Latest news with #Chithravel
New Indian Express
28-05-2025
- Sport
- New Indian Express
Chithravel silver in rain; gold in 4x400m mixed relay for India
CHENNAI: It was quite an eventful day in Gumi, not just for the Indian athletes who had some commendable outings but also the conditions. It rained and rained, literally during the Asian Athletics Championships on Wednesday. Suddenly the conditions turned hostile and the torrential downpour forced athletes off the track, something not always seen during athletics. Yet India managed a handful of good shows on the track as well as on the field. Praveen Chithravel felt the vagaries of nature to finish second while Tejaswin Shankar missed out on gold by a whisker. Rupal Chaudhury finished second in 400m while the mixed relay team (Santhosh KT, Rupa Chaudhary, Vishal TK, Subha Venkatesan) won gold, the second for the country. The rain did affect a few of the events as well. One athlete who had to stop his vocation midway was Chithravel who ended with a silver in triple jump. He along with his teammate Abdullah Abubakar were midway into their competition when the event was halted due to rain. Because of Chithravel's recent record, he managed 17.37m national record-equalling feat at the Federation Athletics Championships, he was one of the favourites to win gold along with Abubaker. However, Chithravel could jump 16.90 metres and could not overtake China's Zhu Yaming (17.06m). The 17.37m jump in Kochi has already earned him a spot at the World Athletics Championship in Tokyo. Yet he wanted to improve at Gumi. Chithravel explained during an online press interaction about the challenging conditions. He said that he was getting warmed up and his third jump was the best in the series and was looking to better that. However, because of the heavy rain he could not get back his rhythm. 'The local weather conditions were good at the start but then it rained and became challenging to keep the body warmed up,' Chithravel said. He said that it takes time to get warmed up after a break of 40-45 minutes.
The Hindu
25-04-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Praveen Chithravel ready to surprise with a bigger jump after equalling his own National Record
Two years ago, when triple jumper Praveen Chithravel broke the National Record with a stunning 17.37m in Cuba, many had wondered how genuine it was. Was he tested in Havana, was the question that often popped up. A year later, the Tamil Nadu athlete could only manage a weak 16.25m at the Paris Olympics, failing to qualify for the final and finishing 27th overall. Not many were surprised, for Chithravel has been one of the country's most inconsistent athletes. That had put him under a lot of pressure. He wanted to prove the world wrong. This year, the 23-year-old is trying to add some consistency in his act even while chasing the big jumps. After a 17.13m effort at last month's Indian Open Jumps in Bengaluru, the Asian Games bronze medallist equalled his National Record at the Federation Nationals here on Thursday. That also helped him qualify for this September's World Championships in Tokyo. ALSO READ | Now India's fastest in 200m, Animesh Kujur aims for sub-20 So, what is Chithravel capable of doing this year? 'There will be a big surprise for everybody from me. But I won't tell you how far I can jump this year, that will be the surprise… I'm just praying that I stay injury-free. The focus this year is on the Worlds,' said Chithravel, now third in this year's world list, in a chat with Sportstar. Cuban Yoandri Betanzos, a former two-time Worlds silver medallist who coaches Chithravel at the JSW's IIS Bellary centre, threw some light on the coming 'surprise'. 'This year, my plan for him is 17.50m. He will be doing that at the Inter-State Nationals (Chennai, August) and the Worlds,' said Betanzos. Where has Chithravel improved? 'Here,' said the Cuban, pointing to the head. 'He has power, speed and technique. Only, I need to talk to him more psychologically to improve him. He jumped only 70 per cent here.' With Kerala-born Asian champion Abdulla Aboobacker also in 17m form this year, triple jump is set for some exciting days.
The Hindu
25-04-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Chithravel capable of jumping 17.50m this year, says coach Betanzos
Two years ago, when triple jumper Praveen Chithravel broke the National record with a stunning 17.37m in Cuba, many had wondered how genuine it was. Was he tested in Havana, was the question that often popped up? A year later, the Tamil Nadu athlete could only manage a weak 16.25m at the Paris Olympics, failing to qualify for the final and finishing 27th overall. Not many were surprised, for Chithravel has been one of the country's most inconsistent athletes. That had put him under a lot of pressure. He wanted to prove the world wrong. This year, the 23-year-old is trying to add some consistency to his act even while chasing the big jumps. After a 17.13m effort at last month's Bengaluru Jumps Indian Open, the Asian Games bronze medallist stunningly equalled his National record at the Federation Nationals here on Thursday. That also helped him qualify for this September's World Championships in Tokyo. So what is Chithravel capable of doing this year? 'There will be a big surprise for everybody from me. But I won't tell you how far I can jump this year, that will be the surprise… I'm just praying that I stay injury-free. The focus this year is on the Worlds,' said Chithravel, now third in this year's world list, in a chat with The Hindu. Cuban Yoandri Betanzos, a former two-time Worlds silver medallist who coaches Chithravel at the JSW's IIS Ballari centre, threw some light on the coming 'surprise'. 'This year, my plan for him is 17.50m. He will be doing that at the Inter-State Nationals (Chennai, August) and the Worlds,' said Betanzos. Where has Chithravel improved? 'Here,' said the Cuban, pointing to the head. 'He has power, speed, and technique. Only, I need to talk to him more and more psychologically to improve him. He jumped only 70% here.' With Asian champion Abdulla Aboobacker also in 17m form this year, triple jump is set for some exciting days.
Indian Express
24-04-2025
- Sport
- Indian Express
Federation Cup athletics: Triple jumper Praveen Chithravel equals own national record to qualify for World Championships
Praveen Chithravel, in only the third round of the competition, equalled his own national record in the triple jump and called it a day at the Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships. His celebration was noteworthy. Upon landing, he was sure it was a big leap. He jumped back up and raised both hands and flung a bit of mud in exultation. Then he sought out his coach Yoandri Betanzos, a two-time Worlds silver medallist, and they high-fived. As officials measured the distance, the question was whether it would be a national record. When the jump was recorded at 17.37 metres, Chithravel was overjoyed. He thumped his chest with one hand. More celebrations. He also went past the World Championship Qualifying Standard of 17.22m on Thursday. On the back of his chest number, Chithravel had scribbled '17.20+… for my coach Yoandri'. He posed for pictures holding the piece of paper in front of him. The coach sets targets for him before each competition. At the Federation Cup, 17.20m was the aim. Chithravel had broken the national record two years ago in Havana. He has been registering 17m-plus jumps every year since 2022. However, last year there was a setback when he failed to qualify for the final at the Paris Olympics. 'The preparations for the Olympics were good but it was the first time I faced so much pressure in my life. The Commonwealth Games and Asian Games are fine, but the Olympics are totally different,' Chithravel said. The JSW athlete takes pride in being a 17 metre-plus jumper. 'Someone had to do 17m jumps in India. In India, there are only two people doing 17m jumps… When I go to competitions around the world, people are always jumping more than 17 metres. So I push myself and my competitor Abdulla Aboobacker (silver medallist on Thursday),' Chithravel said. Aboobacker, jumping 16.99m for the silver medal, will join Chithravel at the Asian Championships next month. (LEFT) Praveen Chithravel after equalling his own national record in the triple jump; (RIGHT) the triple jumper shows the message he received from Neeraj Chopra. Keeping his powder dry On Thursday, Chithravel didn't want to over-exert so he skipped the last three rounds. In fact, he had hoped to clinch the gold in two jumps. 'I don't want too much impact here so I protected myself because of my ankle. I want to jump at the Asian Championships and World Championships. On my first two jumps, I didn't get to the board properly but the third jump was perfect. I felt it was a national record. I am really happy because I want to push 17.30 so then one day I can jump 17:50,' he said. Coach Betanzos said that he has spoken to Chithravel about being mentally strong. 'He needs a little more time. He is good, explosiveness is good, technique is good but mentally he was not prepared for high-level competitions. You need to be mentally ready for the Olympics and World Championships,' the Cuban said. The coach also wants improvements in Chithravel's running approach. Other than equalling his national record, Chithravel had more reasons to smile when he got a congratulatory WhatsApp message from javelin world champion and Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Neeraj Chopra. 'Neeraj bro always messages me. Whether I lose a competition or win, whenever I see his messages, I am happy. Whenever I meet him, I always ask a lot of questions. Like how he handles the crowd and pressure,' he added.
Hindustan Times
24-04-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Animesh sets 200m national record with 20.40 sec effort, Chithravel qualifies for World Championship in triple jump
Odisha sprinter Animesh Kujur ran a blazing 200m race as he won the gold medal with a national record time of 20.40 seconds and became the Asian season leader on the final day of the National Federation Senior Athletics Competition in Kochi on Thursday. The 21-year-old Kujur, who had earlier won a silver in men's 100m, ran a brilliant race to better Amlan Borgohain's earlier national record of 20.52 seconds set in 2022. Borgohain, representing Reliance, finished second with 20.80 seconds. With his 20.40 seconds effort, Kujur became the current Asian leader and joint 35th best in the world in the season so far. The men's 200m final race also turned out to be the fastest ever in the country with four competitors running sub 21 seconds. Rahul Kumar G of Tamil Nadu clocked 20.85 seconds to finish third while Manikanta Hoblidhar of Karnataka took the fourth spot with a time of 20.91 seconds. Kujur, however, missed the World Championships qualifying time of 20.16 seconds which is a very tough ask for an Indian 200m runner. He, however, bettered the Asian Championships qualifying time of 20.53 seconds set by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI). Kujur has been in top form coming into the event. He won a gold in the Uttarakhand National Games in February with a time of 20.58 seconds -- his earlier personal best. He then finished on top in the Indian Open Athletics Meet in Chennai earlier this month, clocking 20.63 seconds. He had won 200m gold in the last edition of this event, as well as in the 2024 National Inter-State Championships. 'I felt good during the morning heat race. It gave a big boost to my confidence and eventually resulted in a record breaking performance in the medal round,' Kujur said after the final race. He had clocked 20.69 seconds in Heat Number 2 in the morning. In men's triple jump, Praveen Chithravel equalled his own national record of 17.37m and qualified for the World Championships in Tokyo later this year. The 23-year-old Chithravel, representing JSW, cleared the national record-equalling distance in his third attempt to take the gold on the final day of competitions. He had first set the national record in Havana, Cuba, in May 2023. His effort breached the World Championships qualifying distance of 17.22m. The World Championships will be held in Tokyo from September. 'My plan was to record a jump of 17.20m plus today,' an elated Chithravel said. Abdulla Aboobacker of Air Force finished second with a jump of 16.99m, while Mohammed Muhassin, also of JSW, was third with an effort of 16.28m. Chithravel, hailing from Tamil Nadu, struggled most part of last year, going beyond 17m only once. He finished 12th in his qualifying round group in the Paris Olympics with a poor effort of 16.25m. This year, Chithravel began brightly, winning gold in the Uttarakhand National Games in February through a mediocre jump of 16.50m. He then produced a 17.13m effort at the Indian Open Jumps Competition in Bengaluru in March, before Thursday's national record-equalling performance. The jumping pit also saw Uttar Pradesh's international long jumper Shaili Singh clearing 6.64m to win the gold and erase the long-standing meet record of 6.59m which had remained in the name of her mentor Anju Bobby George since 2002. Reliance athletes Ancy Sojan (6.46m) and Moumita Mondal (6.45m) finished second and third respectively. The men's shot put event saw an upset win with Samardeep Singh Gill of Madhya Pradesh beating national record holder Tajinderpal Singh Toor of Punjab for the gold with a throw of 19.34m. Toor, who holds the national record of 21.77m, produced a poor 18.77m. Aniket (17.89m) of Uttarakhand was third. National record holder decathlete Tejaswin Shankar of Delhi picked up the gold with an aggregate of 7603 points from the 10 events. Yamandeep S (7226 points) of Reliance and Jashbir Nayak (7156 points) of Odisha won the silver and bronze respectively. In the morning session, Maharashtra's Sanjivani Jadhav ran a well-judged race to win the gold medal in the women's 5,000m. Her winning time of 15:43.42 was better than the Asian Championships qualification time of 16:03.33 set by the AFI. The men's 5,000m race was more competitive. The top three runners crossed the finish line within the Asian Championships qualification time of 13:48.33. The battle for gold was between Abhishek Pal and Sawan Barwal. But it was Pal who surged ahead of Barwal to win gold with a time of 13:40.59. In women's javelin throw, national record holder Annu Rani, representing Uttar Pradesh, continued her struggle though she won gold with a disappointing effort of 56.66m -- far below the Asian Championships qualifying distance of 58m. Karnataka throwers Karishma S Sanil (52.73m) and Ramyashree Jain (51.17m) took home the silver and bronze respectively.
