E-Paper
Gowda tops global rankings in discus
Discus thrower Vikas Gowda not only won gold during a competition in Norman (USA), he also set a national mark of 66.28m.
Discus thrower Vikas Gowda not only won gold during a competition in Norman (USA), he also set a national mark of 66.28m.
The feat on Thursday enabled him to top the world rankings, a first for an Indian athlete.
The 28-year-old, who is settled in the US, recorded his season's best in the fourth attempt, which also erased his previous national mark of 64.96m, set in 2007.
Gowda is among the nine Indian track and field athletes who have qualified for the London Olympics.
Improved show
Last year, during the World Championships in Daegu (South Korea), Gowda had finished seventh with a best throw of 64.05m.
He, however, claimed silver in the Delhi Commonwealth Games and bronze in the Asian Games at Guangzhou in 2010.
Despite the performance on Thursday, Gowda will need to prop up his performance for a podium finish in London.
At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Gerd Kanter of Estonia had won gold with a throw of 68.82m. Gowda had then finished 11th (60.69m) in the preliminary round. He had failed to enter the finals.
