New national record set by pole vaulter V.S. Surekha

V.S. Surekha

New Delhi, Nov 4 (IANS)

Pole vaulter V.S. Surekha Tuesday set a new national record in her event, jumping 4.15 metres to better her own mark by 0.07 metre at the 54th National Open Athletics Championships here.

Surekha, the first Indian woman pole vaulter to clear 4.0 metres, previously held the national record of 4.08 metres, set at a national circuit meet in Patiala in 2006.

The 30-year-old athlete is married to triple jumper Renjith Maheshwary. She was representing the Railways at the championships here and was followed by K.C. Dija, also of the Railways, with 3.60 metres to win silver.

Third-placed Kiranbir Kaur of the All India Police Sports Control Board (AIPSCB) also vaulted 3.60 metres but had to settle for the bronze as she took two attempts to hit the mark while Dija cleared the bar on her first attempt.

Railways' Sudha Singh also set a national record for the women's 3,000 metres steeplechase event, clocking 10 minutes and 8.50 seconds to win gold.

Priyanka Singh, also of the Railways, won silver with a time of 10:35.86 followed by Parul Chaudhary of Uttar Pradesh who managed 10:44.38.

In the men's 2-kg discus throw event, Haryana's Arjun took top honours with a throw of 56.45 metres ahead of Dharamraj of the Services who managed 55.62 metres.

The Railways' Vikas Punia won bronze with a throw of 53.17 metres.

Tamil Nadu's G. Gayathri won gold in the women's 100 metres hurdles with a timing of 13.71 seconds.

Deepika, also of Tamil Nadu, came in second clocking 13.81 seconds while Kerala's Sajith K.V. clinched bronze posting 13.97 seconds.

In the women's 600 gram javelin throw, the Railways' Anu Rani claimed gold with a mark of 54.01 metres.

AIPSCB's Rupinder Kaur followed with a throw of 52.26 metres, and the Railways' S. Saraswathy won bronze with 47.85 metres.