Page 6 - Athletics

Over 30 dope sample collection officers dot National Inter-State C'ships

A huge posse of more than 30 dope control officers (DCO) from the NADA have descended here for sample collection from the athletes taking part at the National Inter-State Championships, the final Olympics qualifying event, and they have been instructed to do target testing also. Usually, dope samples of the medal winners are also collected at big events like the national championships, and the unprecedented number of DCOs present at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium is expected to lead to a large sample size. The DCOs have mostly come from New Delhi where the National Anti-Doping Agency head office is located. "I can't tell much, but we have a big team here because it's the most important domestic event of the year as it's the final Olympics qualifying event in athletics," one of the officers, who can't be named for obvious reasons, told PTI on Thursday. "We are also doing target selection of athletes for collection of samples. That much I can tell." Even athletes who finished third or bel

Chopra happy with his adductor, to address recurring issue post Olympics

Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has opened up about his adductor niggle which has affected his season, saying he will consult "different doctors" after the Paris Olympics to address the nagging issue. Chopra returned to competitions after a month-long break to fetch his maiden gold medal at the Paavo Nurmi Games here on Tuesday with an effort of 85.97m, which came in his third attempt. The 26-year-old, who created history by becoming the first Indian to win a track and field medal at the Tokyo Olympics, had withdrawn from last month's Ostrava Golden Spike as a precautionary measure after he felt something in his adductor (group of muscles located on inner thighs). "The weather was good today, a little bit cold with the wind. But I am happy with my adductor now because I could do all 6 throws," Chopra said after the win. "Every year I have some problems with my adductor, maybe after the Olympics I am going to talk to different doctors." Chopra, however, expressed the desire to

Olympics 2024: Indian relay team's plan for qualification revealed by Jacob

Determined to improve its time and qualify for the Paris Olympics, the Indian men's 4x400m relay squad had planned to shadow the formidable USA team at the World Athletics Relays, sprinter Amoj Jacob had revealed. The Indian men's squad comprising Muhammed Anas Yahiya, Muhammed Ajmal, Arokia Rajiv and Jacob qualified for the Paris Games after finishing second in their heat at the World Athletics Relays in Nassau, Bahamas earlier this month. The Indian quartet finished with a collective timing of 3 minutes and 3.23 with USA (2:59.95) expectedly topping the heat. "We knew that we had the US in our Heats and they mostly run below 3 minutes. So, our plan was to stay close to them in the race, which will not only improve our time but also help us qualify for Paris Games," Jacob told SAI Media. "Our target was to register a time between 3:00 and 3:10 so that our confidence is high going into the Paris Olympics," he added. The Indian team was in third position when anchor-leg runner Jaco

Paris 2024: Neeraj Chopra to compete in Finland's Paavo Nurmi Games

Superstar Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will compete in the prestigious Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland on June 18, where he will be up against 19-year-old sensation Max Dehning of Germany, the latest entrant in the 90m club, the organisers said. The 26-year-old Chopra, who will begin his season in the Doha Diamond League Meeting on May 10, had won a silver in the 2022 edition of the Paavo Nurmi Games with a throw of 89.30m -- his career second best -- while he pulled out of the event in 2023 as he was recovering from an injury then. Chopra has a personal best of 89.94m. The Paavo Nurmi Games are named after the legendary Finnish middle and long distance runner. It is a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold series event, one of the most prestigious single-day competitions outside the Diamond League Meeting series. "Javelin throw Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra will return to Turku in June. Chopra will compete in the Paavo Nurmi Games after a year's break and will meet a ..

Hard to believe Pak's Nadeem struggling to get a new javelin: Neeraj Chopra

Star Indian athlete Neeraj Chopra was astonished to know that his rival from across the border Arshad Nadeem is struggling to get a new javelin, given his standing in the world of athletics. Pakistan's ace javelin exponent Nadeem had won the 2022 Commonwealth Games gold in Birmingham with a massive 90.18m throw. He had bagged the bronze medal at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games where Chopra had clinched the top spot. While Chopra, the Olympic and world champion, and Nadeem are fierce competitors on the field, they are known for their camaraderie off the pitch. "It is hard to believe that he has been struggling to get a new javelin. Given his credentials, this should not be a big issue at all," Chopra told SAI Media on Monday. Nadeem recently said he is struggling to acquire an international-standard javelin for several years and expressed his frustration about that. "It has now got to a stage where the javelin is damaged and I have asked the national federation and my coach to do ...

Gulveer's national record 10000m run not enough to qualify for Paris 2024

Asian Games bronze medallist athlete Gulveer Singh shattered a 16-year-old national record in the men's 10000m to finish second in his heat at The Ten in San Juan Capistrano in California. The 25-year-old clocked 27.41.81 on Saturday to better the earlier national mark of 28:02.89 by over 20 seconds that stood in Surendra Singh's name since 2008. However, Gulveer's effort was not enough for Olympic qualification as he missed the Paris Games qualification time of 27:00.00 by over 41 seconds. The other Indian in the heat, Kartik Kumar finished ninth in the race with a timing of 28:01.90, which was also better than Surendra's earlier national record. Avinash Sable, who was competing in the same event, did not finish (DNF) his heat, pulling out of the race in the 15th lap at the 6000m mark. In the women's 10000m, Parul Chaudhary finished a disappointing 20th, clocking 32:02.08. She too missed the Paris qualification, which stands at 30:40.00.

National Games gold medallist Parvej Khan finishes seventh in USA's NCAA

National Games gold medallist Parvej Khan finished seventh in the one mile track event's final in the NCAA Championships of the United States in Boston, one of the most competitive collegiate competitions in the world. Khan clocked 4 minutes 03.05 seconds to finish seventh on Saturday, having become the first Indian to qualify for the final of a track event in the NCAA Championships. The 19-year-old Indian clocked 3 minutes 57.126 seconds to finish third in the preliminary run. The USA's Luke Houser finished first with a timing of 4 minutes 01.72 second while Australian Adam Spencer came second in 4 minutes 01.92 seconds. Lucas Bons (4:02.12) of the US was third. Khan was representing University of Florida as he earned a college scholarship there last year. Khan, who belongs to a farming family in Mewat region in Haryana, had won the 1500m gold in the 2022 National Games with a new personal best of 3.40.89 in Gandhinagar. One mile run though is not popular among Indian athletes

State funeral for marathon world record-holder Kelvin Kiptum from Kenya

Kenya's world marathon record holder Kelvin Kiptum was given a state funeral Friday following his death in car crash earlier this month, as many Kenyans urged the government to do more to protect the country's famous athletes. Hundreds of dignitaries from Kenyan President William Ruto to Sebastian Coe, head of World Athletics joined family, friends and fans of Kiptum in paying their last respects as he was interred in Naiberi, about 6 kilometers (4 miles) from his hometown of Chepkorio in western Kenya. The 24-year-old runner and his Rwandan coach, Gervais Hakizimana, were killed in the crash two weeks ago near the town of Kaptagat in western Kenya, in the heart of the high-altitude region that's renowned as a training base for the best distance runners from Kenya and across the world. Kiptum was one of the most exciting prospects to emerge in road running in years, having broken the world record in what was only his third appearance in an elite marathon. His record of 2 hours and

Asian Indoor Championships: Lane infringement costs Gulveer 3000m gold

India's Gulveer Singh lost his men's 3000m gold medal in the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships here after he was disqualified for 'lane infringement'. Gulveer had clocked 8 minutes 07.48 seconds to finish on top of the podium in the 3000m final, a non Olympic athletics event, late on Monday. He was later disqualified for lane infringement and a late night 'appeal' by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) was also rejected. "Yes, it was ruled that Gulveer committed lane infringement. Of course, AFI protested but the protest was rejected," a coach, who is with the team, told PTI. "The jury said they have enough evidence to conclude that Gulveer made lane infringement." Various clauses of technical rules 17.2 and 17.3 provides for how an athlete can commit lane infringement and under what circumstances he or she may not be disqualified. Technical Rule 17.2.3 says: "In all races run in lanes (or any part of a race run in lanes), each athlete shall keep within their allocated lan

Asian Indoor Athletics Championships: Toor, Jyothi, Harmilan bag gold

Ace shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor and hurdler Jyothi Yarraji rewrote their national records, while long distance sensation Harmilan Bains sizzled on the track as India grabbed three gold medals on the opening day of the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships here on Saturday. Two-time Asian Games gold medallist Toor hurled the shot put at a distance of 19.72 metres in his second attempt for a new national indoor record. Kazakhstan's Ivanov Ivan (19.08m) and Iran's Mehdi Saberi (18.74m) took the silver and bronze medals respectively. Earlier, Jyothi Yarraji marginally bettered her own national record by clocking 8.12s in the women's 60m hurdles to win the gold. The 2022 Asian Games silver medallist in the 100m hurdles had the previous best timing of 8:13s at the same event last year which had earned her a runner-up finish. The 24-year-old athlete topped her heat with a timing of 8:22s and in the final she did better to finish ahead of Japan's Asuka Tereda (8.21s). Lui Lai Yiu o

Kenya's Kelvin Kiptum, marathon world-record holder, dies in a car crash

Kelvin Kiptum was one of the most promising newcomers to road running in a long time, and in August, he was a strong candidate to win the gold medal in the marathon at the Paris Olympics.

3 National Games participants among 11 to get reduced 3-year ban for doping

Three National Games participants were among 11 sportspersons, who ended up getting reduced sanctions for failed dope tests after admitting to their offence within 20 days of being charged, the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) has revealed. Liable to be banned for four years, their sentence was reduced by one year due to early acceptance of guilt earlier this month. Their names appeared in the latest NADA list of those who were handed reduced sanctions of three years under Article 10.8 of the NADA Rules. Kamaljeet Kaur (100m and 200m), Ajay Kumar (5000m and 10000m) and Harjodhvir Singh (5000m and 10000m) are the three track-and-field athletes, who failed dope tests in the October 25-November 9 National Games in Goa. Article 10.8.1 of the NADA Anti-Doping Rules allows athletes charged with a four-year ban to benefit from a one year reduction if they admit the violation and accept the penalty within 20 days of being charged. Article 10.8.2 provides an opportunity for the athlete to

Kishore Jena and DP Manu join Neeraj Chopra in AIU Registered Testing Pool

Asian Games silver medallist javelin thrower Kishore Jena and D P Manu have joined Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra in the Registered Testing Pool (RTP) of Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), the global track and field anti-doping watchdog. Chopra, who is also the reigning world champion and Asian Games gold medallist, has been there in the RTP for some time but Jena and Manu were new additions in the list announced by AIU for the first quarter of 2024, indicating the rise of Indian javelin throwers at the world stage. Jena had finished fifth in the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, where Chopra won gold. Manu had finished sixth. Three Indians had finished in the top six of the javelin throw final in the 2023 World Athletics Championships, a record in itself. Altogether, seven Indians are currently in the RTP of the AIU. Star 3000m steeplechaser Avinash Sable, woman javelin thrower Annu Rani and long jumpers Murali Sreeshankar and Jeswin Aldrin are the other Indians in the ..

Coffee with BS: 'Golden boy' Neeraj Chopra on India's sporting success

It could be argued that the 'golden boy' is single-handedly responsible for boosting viewership for athletic competitions in India

Make track and field events more attractive and marketable: Neeraj Chopra

Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Wednesday emphasised on making track and field athletics events more attractive and marketable for Indian fans. The Tokyo Olympics gold medallist, with which he became the first Indian to stand on the podium in track and field events at the sporting showpiece, shared his thoughts on what ails this discipline of athletics in the country. "First of all, I feel that the international competitions where we compete such as the Diamond League, Continental Tours, and World Athletics Championships, should be broadcast in India. "Currently, we only get to watch the highlights though people want to watch the athletics, they stay up till 1-2 am in the night, and wait for the athlete to play but they face disappointment after not being able to watch," Chopra said. He was addressing a gathering at the RCB Innovation Lab's Leaders Meet India. Broadcasting athletics events on TV will enable more people to start watching, to understand, and increa

Hammer thrower Rachna Kumari fails dope test by int'l federation's AIU

India's Hangzhou Asian Games participant hammer thrower Rachna Kumari has returned positive in a dope test conducted by international federation's Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) just before the continental showpiece and has been handed provisional suspension. The 30-year-old Kumari's dope sample, taken out-of-competition, was found to contain steroids Stanozolol, Metandienone and Dehydrochloromethyltestosterone (DHCMT). A notice of allegation has been issued to her, the AIU said on its website, without giving further details. When contacted, Kumari said she had given urine samples to officials working for a foreign dope testing agency in Patiala on September 24. "I have not got any information that I have failed dope test, though I had given my urine sample on September 24 in Patiala," she told PTI from her home in Uttar Pradesh. An official of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) also confirmed that Kumari has failed a dope test but refused to give details as it relates to the

Neeraj Chopra in final list for Men's World Athlete of the Year Award

Olympic and world champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra was on Tuesday shortlisted for men's 'World Athlete of the Year' award. The 25-year-old Indian was one of the five athletes shortlisted for the prestigious honour. "The five athletes, who represent four countries from four area associations, have achieved sensational performances across a range of athletics disciplines in 2023, winning titles and breaking world records at the World Athletics Championships 2023, one-day meeting circuits, Label road races and other events around the world," World Athletics said in a release. The other male athletes in the final list are USA's Ryan Crouser (shot put), Sweden's Mondo Duplantis (Pole vault), Kenya's Kelvin Kiptum (marathon) and USA's Noah Lyles (100m/200m). The award will be announced on World Athletics' platforms on December 11.

Para Asian Games: Ankur Dhama secures gold in men's 5,000 m T11 event

The event did not feature a bronze medal, with Hong Kong Li Chun Fi getting the last spot with timings of 18:41.40 minutes

Neeraj Chopra among 11 nominees for men's World Athlete of Year

Olympic and world champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra was on Thursday named as one of the 11 nominees for the 2023 men's World Athlete of the Year award. The 11 nominees were selected by an international panel of athletics experts, comprising representatives from all six continental areas of World Athletics. The nominations reflect some of the standout performances achieved at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, one-day meeting circuits, Label road races and other events around the world, the international governing body of the sport said. The other nominees are shot putter Ryan Crouser of USA, pole vaulters Mondo Duplantis of Sweden, 3000m steeplechaser Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco, Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway (1500m/5000m), marathoner Kelvin Kiptum of Kenya, decathlete Pierce LePage of Canada, sprinter Noah Lyles of USA, race walker Alvaro Martin of Spain, long jumper Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece and 400m hurdler Karsten Warholm of Norway. A three-way voting ..

Asian Games 2023 controversies: Neeraj Chopra, Kabaddi and Jyothi Yarraji

Indian athletes Jyothi Yarraji, Neeraj Chopra, Kishore Jena and Men's Kabaddi teams' performances were marred by controversies during the 2023 Asian Games held in China's Hangzhou