Indian hurdlers Joythi Yarraji and Nithya Ramraj made it to the final of the women’s 100 m hurdles event while long jumpers Murali Sreeshankar and Jeswin Aldrin made it to the final of men’s long jump event at the ongoing Asian Games at Hangzhou on Saturday.
Joythi Yarraji, an Asian level champion, clocked 13.03 seconds to reach the finals and stay in contention for a medal. The 24-year-old hurdler finished second in her heat and overall third. Nithiya Ramraj also made it to the final, clocking 13:30 seconds to finish seventh, among the best eight athletes who get the privilege of qualifying to the final.
In the men’s long jump event, the qualification criteria were to achieve a jump of atleast 7.90 m or be among the top 12 performers. Murali Sreeshankar achieved a jump of 7.97 m while Jeswin Aldrin had a jump of 7.67 m. Murali Sreeshankar finished at number two overall in the heats while Jeswin Aldrin finished at sixth spot.
Coming to the men’s 1500 m, the criteria was to finish among the top six athletes in each heat. Ajay Kumar Saroj ranked second in his heat with timings of 3:51.93 while Jinson Johnson finished fifth in heat two with timings of 3:56.22 to reach finals.
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Meanwhile, in the 100 m hurdles heat in women’s heptathlon, Swapna Barman clocked her best timings of 13.88, ranked second overall behind China’s Zheng Ninali. Nandini Agasara finished fourth overall in heats with timings of 14.01 seconds.
World champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, hurdler Jyothi Yarraji and steeplechase racer Avinash Sable are among the top Indian athletics names competing in 37 events at the Hangzhou meet. Athletics event started on September 29 and will go on till October 5.
These track and field events are being held at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium. Athletics has been the best discipline for India at the Asian Games, giving the country a total of 255 medals – 79 gold, 88 silver and 88 bronze.
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