Vithya Ramraj dominates 400m hurdles, clocks second-fastest time in Asia this year
Kochi:
and legendary athlete
have one thing in common. The two hold the
women's 400m hurdles
record with a time of 55.42 seconds. On Wednesday at the Maharaja's College Stadium here in K o c h i , Vithya couldn't come anywhere close to that record but dominated the event from start to finish.
Tired of too many ads? go ad free now
She clocked 56.04 seconds to smash the meet record and grabbed the women's
400m hurdles
gold on Day 3 of the 28th
National Federation Senior Athletics Competition
. She erased the mark set by Saritaben Gayakwad (57.21s) in the Patiala meet six years ago.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!
The victory also offered Vithya some consolation after being pushed to second place in the women's 400 by Uttar Pradesh's Rupa on Tuesday. Kerala's Anu R finished second with a time of 58.26 seconds, while Aswini R (1.02.41) of Tamil Nadu bagged the bronze.
However, Vithya rued the lack of competition in the event. 'It was a good track and good conditions, but I didn't feel challenged. 'After a point, all my rivals were far behind, and I felt as if I was competing with myself. I could have improved the timing a bit more if there was better competition,' she said.
Vithya's effort in Kochi is the second-fastest time in Asia this year, and if she can do an encore at the Asian Championship in South Korea next month, she can expect a podium finish.
However, more than securing a medal at the Asian event, Vithya's primary target is to achieve a personal best, which would see her erasing Usha's 40-year-old record.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
6 hours ago
- Time of India
2nd unofficial Test, Day 1: KL Rahul roars back with ton ahead of England Tests
KL Rahul (Photo by) NEW DELHI: Despite England Lions making early inroads after winning the toss and opting to bowl first on Day 1 of the second unofficial Test in Northampton on Friday, India A ended the day at 319/7 in 83 overs, riding on strong contributions from KL Rahul , Karun Nair, and Dhruv Jurel after early setbacks. The morning session belonged to England Lions pacer Chris Woakes , who struck twice to remove openers Yashasvi Jaiswal (17) and captain Abhimanyu Easwaran (11), leaving India A at 40/2. KL Rahul, returning to longer-format cricket, played a composed knock. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Alongside Karun Nair, he added 86 runs for the third wicket before Nair was trapped lbw by Woakes for 40. Rahul went on to score a fluent 116 off 168 balls, laced with 15 boundaries, before falling to George Hill shortly after the team crossed the 250-run mark. Middle-order contributions from Dhruv Jurel (52) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (34) kept the scoreboard moving, but wickets fell at regular intervals in the final session. Shardul Thakur (19) was dismissed lbw by spinner Farhan Ahmed, while George Hill claimed two crucial wickets, including that of Jurel. India A ended the day on a balanced position, with Tanush Kotian (5 not out) and Anshul Kamboj (1 not out) at the crease. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Nuova CUPRA Formentor e-HYBRID CUPRA Configura Auto Undo Despite a few middle-order collapses, they posted a competitive total on a pitch offering movement early on. Gautam Gambhir sends stern message after Bengaluru tragedy Woakes was the pick of the bowlers for the hosts, finishing with 3/50, while George Hill supported well with 2/56. Brief Scores (Day 1): India A 319/7 in 83 overs (KL Rahul 116, Dhruv Jurel 52, Chris Woakes 3/50, George Hill 2/56) vs England Lions.
Time of India
12 hours ago
- Time of India
Siddharth Sunil's journey: From Asian Games miss to Asian champ
Siddharth Sunil CHENNAI: Following his decision to step away from rowing in 2018 after missing out on selection for the Asian Games, Tamil Nadu's Siddharth Sunil has made an impressive return. Siddharth decided to pursue the sport once again in 2023 and, fuelled by his unwavering passion, recently won gold in men's individual 2000m (30-39 age category) at the Asian Indoor Championships in Thailand. Siddharth clocked 6:25.10 to become the Asian champion. 'I picked up the sport again while doing my Masters in applied strength and conditioning in the UK. The country is one of the best for rowing and the standard is very high compared to India. When I returned to India, I carried a lot of things that I learnt there and it helped me,' Siddharth told TOI . 'When I decided to row again, my objective was not to make a comeback to the national team; rather, it was purely for the love of the sport. I found that my timings were good, and I was performing better than when I was doing it seriously.' While athletes usually have to hire a strength and conditioning coach to look after them, Siddharth does not need one to go elsewhere. Being a strength and conditioning coach himself, Siddharth, the rower, has transformed into a better version. He trains athletes from various disciplines, including multiple time Asian Games medallist in squash, Harinder Pal Sandhu. 'It is a game changer for me (Siddharth). I wish I had this when I was younger and training seriously. I feel it would have made all the difference. I am able to optimise my own training programme now, and I am still learning.' Siddharth's focus for now is to get better in Indoors and will look to have a go at the outdoors next season provided everything falls into place. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Eid wishes , messages , and quotes !
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
13 hours ago
- Business Standard
China crash out of qualifiers; Uzbekistan, Jordan seal FIFA WC berths
China slumped out of World Cup contention before Uzbekistan and Jordan qualified for the first time, taking advantage of Asia getting double the number of guaranteed entries at the first 48-team tournament in North America next year. Asian soccer power South Korea sealed an 11th straight appearance at the men's World Cup finals with a 2-0 win in Iraq. In a hectic night Thursday with a lot on the line, Australia scored late to edge already-qualified Japan 1-0 before China lost 1-0 in Indonesia. For Uzbekistan, a 0-0 draw against the United Arab Emirates was enough to take the second automatic qualification spot in Group A behind Iran. With Asia now having eight guaranteed qualifiers after just four for the 2022 edition in Qatar Uzbekistan was a likely contender to step up. While most of its team plays in the domestic league, it includes a few Europe-based stars like Roma forward Eldor Shomurodov and Manchester City defender Abdukodir Khusanov. In Group B, South Korea and Jordan secured their places at the 2026 tournament to be staged in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Ali Olwan scored three goals in Jordan's 3-0 win over Oman as the soon-to-be World Cup debutant built on reaching the final at the 2023 Asian Cup, where it lost to host Qatar. Jordan's highest-profile player is winger Mousa Tamari at French club Rennes. In Group C, a first-half penalty from Ole Romeny in Jakarta was enough to end China's chances of qualifying for the World Cup for the first time since 2002, when the tournament was staged in Asia for the first time and co-hosts South Korea and Japan didn't have to go through continental qualifying. China's strugglesIt's a mystery to many how a country of 1.4 billion people with such a pedigree in Olympic sports struggles so much to reach soccer's marquee event. Branko Ivankovic, a Croatian with international experience in Iran and Oman, was hired last year to guide the Chinese men's team and domestic news agency Xinhua said the head coach took some of the responsibility for another failed campaign. This team has been fighting for this goal for over 20 years. We believed that if we could reach the next stage from this tough group, we would have a strong chance of qualifying," Ivankovic said, according to Xinhua. "But we didn't succeed and, as head coach, I definitely bear significant responsibility. With one game remaining in this round of Asian qualifying, China has won only two of nine games and is bottom of the group that also contains Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Indonesia. We've brought in a younger generation of players who have injected energy into the team, Ivankovic said. Based on their performances, I believe this team has a promising future." World Cup pathwayIn Abu Dhabi, Uzbek fans celebrated together at the end and had goalkeeper Utkir Yusupov to thank for a number of important saves. As well as the six automatic qualifiers from Asia two from each of the three groups in this stage UAE and Qatar, which defeated the already-qualified Iran 1-0, will finish third and fourth and advance to the next stage in Asian qualifying. Six teams will compete in the next stage for two more places at the 2026 World Cup. South Korea clinched top spot in its group, helped by Ali Al-Hamadi's first-half red card for a high kick. Kim Jin-gyu put the Koreans ahead just after the hour, and the victory was sealed by Oh Hyeon-gyu eight minutes from the end. the result ensured Jordan could finish no worse than second. The Palestinian team stayed in contention for the top four with a 2-0 win over last-place Kuwait, one point behind fourth-place Oman. Australia moved to the cusp of qualifying for a sixth consecutive World Cup with a last-minute goal from Aziz Behich in Perth. In the 90th minute, Riley McGree broke free down the right and pulled back for Behich to curl home to bring Perth Stadium to its feet and give Australia its first win over Japan in 16 years. It hasn't sunk in just yet but when the final whistle went it was a great feeling, Behich said. It was a tough game and we had to grind it out. It's been a long campaign and we have worked so hard. To secure that spot Australia needs to avoid a heavy loss next week at third-place Saudi Arabia, which had a 2-0 win over Bahrain.
