Asian Indoor Athletics Championships 2023: Tajinderpal strikes gold; silver for Swapna Barman, Praveen Chithravel

Karanveer Singh won silver in shot put, while Jeswin Aldrin rewrote the national record in men's long jump.

India had an eventful opening day at the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships 2023 breaking several National Records. Asian Games champion Tajinderpal Singh Toor clinched the gold medal in men's Shot put, while Karanveer Singh secured silver. Also winning silver medals were Swapna Barman in the women's pentathlon and triple jumper Praveen Chithravel.

The Asian Indoor Athletics Championships, running since 2004, is a biennial competition organised by the Asian Athletics Association. India has sent a 25-member contingent - 13 male and 12 female - for this year’s Asian Indoor Athletics Championships, which will be the 10th edition. Swapna Barman and Praveen Chithravel also smashed the indoor national records en route to their silver medal-winning effort. Long jumper Jeswin Aldrin also bettered the national record after topping the qualifiers and reaching the final round.

Tajinderpal Singh Toor wins gold in shot put, Karanveer silver

Tajinderpal Singh Toor started the event with a foul throw but gradually caught pace and improved his performance. He clinched the gold medal with a best throw of 19.49m. The other Indian in the fray, Karanveer Singh won silver with a 19.37m throw as India secured a 1-2 finish in the shot put event.

Swapna Barman win silver in Pentathlon

Swapna Barman started the season on a bright note, finishing second in the women's pentathlon with a total of 4119 points from five events. She also broke the indoor national record which was previously held by Purnima (4062 points). Swapna started the event on a bright note taking the lead.

Gold medallist Ekaterina Voronina of Uzbekistan leapfrogged Swapna in three events to finish first with 4386 points. Among the other Indians in the event, Sowmiya Murugan finished eighth overall with 3654 points.

Praveen Chithravel breaks national record, wins silver in Triple Jump

Parveen Chithravel created a new indoor national record in the men’s triple jump with a best effort of 16.98m to clinch the silver medal. The previous national record stood at 16.24m created by Amarjeet Singh in 2008.

Chitravel had a good 2022 season having participated in a few foreign meets and gaining valuable experience. The Indian youngster crossed the 16.80m mark four times and has shown good consistency. The gold medal in the event was won by China's Fang Yaoqing (17.20m)

Jeswin Aldrin creates new indoor national record in Long Jump

Jeswin Aldrin created a new indoor national record with a jump of 7.93m and qualified for the finals finishing first in the qualification round. The previous indoor national record stood at 7.92m set by Prem Kumar in 2016 and equalled by Murali Sreeshankar in 2022. The other Indian in the event, Muhammed Anees Yahiya finished ninth and missed out on qualifying for the finals by the barest margin.

Archana Suseendran Women’s 60m

Archana Suseendran finished a credible fourth with a timing of 7.39 seconds. She topped her heat and improved her timings in the finals. Star athlete Jyoti Yarraji also took part in the event but failed to qualify for the finals as she finished third in her heat. Jyoti will be seen in action in her main event (60mH) tomorrow.

Results

Shotput: 1st - Tajinderpal Singh Toor (19.49m), 2nd - Karanveer Singh (19.37m)

Pentathlon: 1st - Ekaterina Voronina (4386 pts), 2nd - Swapna Barman (4119 pts), 8th - Sowmiya Murugan (3654 pts)

Men's Triple jump: 1st - Fang Yaoqing (17.20m), 2nd - Praveen Chithravel (16.98m), 12th - A.B. Arun (14.12m)

Women's 60m: 1st - Farzaneh Fasihi (7.28s), 4th - Archana Suseentran (7.39s)