New Delhi: Indian sprinter Nipam produced a memorable performance on her international debut by winning the bronze medal in the women’s 100m event on the opening day of the Asian U20 Athletics Championships on Thursday.
The 18 year old athlete from Uttar Pradesh overcame a slow start off the blocks before finishing strongly to clock 11.62 seconds and secure India’s first sprint medal of the competition. Nipam already holds the national under 20 record in the women’s 100m with a personal best of 11.53 seconds achieved earlier this year at a domestic meet.
The gold medal was won by Dana Noor Salem of Qatar, who clocked 11.47 seconds, while China’s Xinxuan Chen claimed silver in 11.54 seconds.
Nipam’s campaign at the championship is not over yet, with the young sprinter also set to feature in India’s 4x100m relay team. India will be hoping her strong form carries into the relay competition over the remaining days of the tournament.
In other events, India narrowly missed another podium finish in the men’s 3000m as Vikas Kumar finished fourth with a personal best timing of 8:24.88.
The women’s 400m event brought encouraging results for the Indian contingent, with Neeru Pathak winning her heat comfortably in 54.42 seconds and Tahura Khatun finishing second in her heat with 55.06 seconds. Both athletes advanced to the final.
However, Mohammed Ashfaq failed to qualify for the men’s 400m final after finishing fifth in the semifinals.
India also remained in contention for a medal in the decathlon through Rahul Jakhar, who delivered a strong all round performance on the opening day across the 100m, long jump, shot put, high jump and 400m events.
The four day championship will continue until Sunday, with India aiming to add more medals across track and field events.
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