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Lalita makes 3000m steeplechase final
RIO DE JANEIRO/NEW DELHI: After 32 years, India have a woman athlete in the final of an individual Olympic track event. Lalita Babar ensured she became only the
RIO DE JANEIRO/NEW DELHI: After 32 years, India have a woman athlete in the final of an individual Olympic track event. Lalita Babar ensured she became only the second Indian woman to achieve that on Saturday by qualifying for the 3000m steeplechase final with a national record.
Babar, 27, came fourth in the second heat and qualified as one of the fastest losers, eventually placed seventh among the 15 who made it to the final. She emulated PT Usha, who qualified for the 400m hurdles final at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, finishing fourth.
She clocked 9min 19.76sec, erasing the national record of 9:26.55, which stood in the name of Sudha Singh, who failed to qualify after coming ninth in the third heat at a poor 9:43.29.
Babar effort is the continuation of her consistency in the last few years. She won bronze in the 2014 Incheon Asian Games with a national mark, which again fell after she qualified for the Beijing world championships final last year and produced a brave front-running race. She then won the Asian championships title at Wuhan, China.
In the Airtel half-marathon in Delhi in November, Babar ran a brilliant 1 hour, 10 minutes, 52 seconds, finishing eighth overall in the elite women’s race, and first among Indian runners.
In April, Babar had broken the national mark in the New Delhi Federation Cup meet, and then declared that she will produce her best in Rio.
Training under Russian long distance expert Nikolai Snesarev, the Maharashtra athlete’s fine showing is the result of her tremendous endurance. Babar started her career as a distance runner before settling on steeplechase.
Considering the high mileage put in during training, another national record cannot be ruled out in the final.
MAIRAJ FAILS, VIKAS UP
Indian shooter Mairaj Ahmad Khan crashed out of men’s skeet qualification round after finishing ninth following a shoot-off for the fifth and sixth place here on Saturday. Mairaj, who shot a total of 121 along with four other shooters, required a shoot-off for the final two spots to reach the semifinals. The 40-year-old found himself out of the race after managing to shoot a +3 to drop to the ninth place.
Boxer Vikas Krishan defeated Onder Sipal of Turkey 3-0 to enter the quarter-finals of the men’s middleweight (75kg) category on Friday. Vikas, who is just one win away from a medal, will face Bektemir Melikuziev of Uzbekistan for a berth in the last four stage.
In women’s hockey, India lost 0-5 against Argentina.