Clean sweep by India in discus throw

It was a perfect finish for the hosts in the women’s discus throw event, as the top three spots were secured by Indians.

Krishna Poonia bagged gold, while Seema Antil and Harwant Kaur won the silver and bronze respectively in the Asian Grand Prix at Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi on Tuesday.

Krishna attained the top-spot with a distance of 59.51. “The training in US helped me a lot, as there I got a chance to compete with many big names. This gold will help me in preparing for the Commonwealth Games,” said Krishna.

Meanwhile, India’s hope for gold in women’s 800m event ended when Tintu Luka finished second to Kazakhstan’s Margarita Matsko. Tintu was leading the way but failed to shift gears in last 50m mark to settle for silver. India’s Sushma Devi won bronze.

Margarita timed 2:02.85 sec, while Tintu clocked 2:03.14 sec. In men’s 400m, India’s SK Morataza and J Premanand managed to get gold and silver respectively.

India results: Men’s: 400m: Sheikh Morataza (Ind; 47.64s), J Premanand (Ind; 48.12s), Nelson Stone (PNG; 48.15s); 800m: S Moradi (Iri; 1:47.70s), SP Verma (Ind; 1:47.90s), Pankaj Dimri (Ind; 1:48.20s); Triple jump: Renjith Maheshwari (Ind; 16.84m), Wu Bo (Chn; 16.53m), Amarjit Singh (Ind; 16.35m); Shot Put: Zhang Jun (Chn; 19.71m), Om Prakash (Ind; 19.58m), CM Huang (Tpe; 18.74m); Women’s: 100m: Guzel Khubbieva (Uzb; 11.70s), Toea Wisil (PNG; 11.76s), HM Jyothi (Ind; 11.79s);  800m: Margarita Matsko (Kaz; 2:02.85s), Tintu Luka (Ind; 2:03.14s), Sushma Devi (Ind; 2:03.69s); Discus Throw: Krishna Poonia (Ind; 59.51m), Seema Antil (59.51m), Harwant Kaur (57.75m)