Top five performers at the Indian Athletics Grand Prix 4

This was the penultimate event for Indian athletes to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.

The Indian Athletics Grand Prix 4, an Olympic qualifier, was scheduled to accommodate athletes who missed out on events abroad due to COVID-19 protocols. It was the penultimate chance for Indian athletes to book their place at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. Therefore, the Indian players were full of verve ahead of the event.

The National Inter-State Athletics Championships will be the final Olympic qualifying event and will take place from June 25 to June 29.

Several high-profile names were in action at the Indian Athletics Grand Prix 4 at the National Institute of Sports in Patiala. Let's take a look at the best performers from the event:

5. Harmilan Bains

It is not often that we see an Indian athlete following in her mother's footsteps and trying to eclipse her. Harmilan Bains is trying to do exactly that. She is the daughter of the 2002 Asian Games silver-medalist Madhuri Singh and is considered one of the most promising athletes in the country.

While her mother took part in the 800m, the youngster's pet event is the 1500m. Representing Punjabi University, Bains clocked 4:14.67 to break her mother's record in Khelo India. Earlier this year, she also won the Federation Cup. Having battled a career-threatening knee injury in 2017, Bains was aiming to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.

She put up a spirited performance at the Indian Athletics Grand Prix 4. Bains comfortably won the metric mile in 4:08.27. However, she fell short of the Olympic qualifying mark of 4:04.20. The sprinter will only get better in the years to come.

4. Hima Das

Hima Das was hoping to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics via the Indian Grand Prix 4. Her first appearance was in the 4x100m relay event. She teamed up with Dutee Chand, S Dhanalakshmi and Archana Suseendran. The team clocked in at 43:37 seconds, a new national record. However, they missed the Olympic qualification mark, which was 43:05 seconds.

This was followed by Das winning the 200m, but again she missed out on qualifying for the quadrennial event. She clocked in at 22.88 seconds, but missed the qualification mark of 22.80 seconds. In doing so, the 21-year-old registered a new personal best at the event.

Das will now have a final opportunity to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics via the National Inter-State Athletics Championships. Her chances for qualifying are extremely slim at this point, but it is not impossible.

3. Dutee Chand

Ace sprinter Dutee Chand came agonizingly close to qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics. Having anchored the team to a victory in the 4x100m relay, all eyes were on her in the women's 100m sprint.

Chand mounted a gallant effort in the event. While she rewrote her own national record after clocking 11.17 seconds, she fell short of the magic mark of 11.15 seconds. Therefore, she missed the Olympic qualifying mark by just 0.02 seconds.

The 25-year-old is currently in the 42nd spot out of 56 participants and could still book a spot in the Olympic quota. Chand will now look forward to the National Inter-State Athletics Championships with only one thing on her mind.

2. Kamalpreet Kaur

Kamalpreet Kaur had already qualified for the Tokyo Olympics. She was the sole participant in the discus throw event at the Grand Prix and was looking to stay in shape.

Kaur bettered her earlier national record mark by hurling the iron disc to a distance of 66.59m. At the Federation Cup, Kaur had become the country's first woman discus thrower to breach the 65m mark. Due to this, she had booked her spot at the Tokyo Olympics.

In achieving a 66.59m distance at the Indian Athletics Grand Prix 4, Kaur registered the best-ever discus throw by an Indian. The 25-year-old went past the men's national record which stands at 66.28m. It was set by Vikas Gowda at the Old Style Discus Challenge held in Norman, United States in 2012. Therefore, Kamalpreet Kaur now looks like a genuine medal contender at the Olympic Games.

1. Tajinderpal Singh Toor

The most impressive performer at the event was shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor. He qualified for the Tokyo Olympics with a hefty throw of 21.49m. The 26-year-old's previous best was 20.92m. Therefore, he became the 11th individual Indian track and field athlete to qualify for Tokyo 2020. Infact, Toor went past the qualifying mark of 21.10m with each of his four legal puts.

Toor’s performance was pretty impressive at the Grand Prix. His throw of 21.49m would have been good enough for a Bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. American duo Ryan Crouser and Joe Kovacs had finished top of the pile with a throw of 22.52m and 21.78m respectively. However, Toor’s throw would have eclipsed Tom Walsh of New Zealand, who had achieved 21.36m on that occasion.

Hailing from the Moga district of Punjab, Toor had previously won a Gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games. He will be hoping for another stunning showing in Tokyo, to bring home the country's long-awaited maiden Olympic medal in athletics.

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