National Open Athletics: Samardeep Gill Claims Shot Put Gold

MORABADI—The -year-old Samardeep Gill of Madhya Pradesh capped off a remarkably consistent season by winning the men’s shot put gold medal at the National Open athletics championships on Monday, upsetting two-time Asian Games gold medallist Tajinderpal Singh Toor. The event was held at the Birsa Munda Stadium.

Gill’s Gold and Toor’s Struggle

Gill started nervously with a foul but recovered strongly to register his winning throw of on his final attempt. This marked his seventh -plus performance of the season, closely following his personal best of set in August.

Toor, who has experienced a roller-coaster year, struggled to find his customary -plus power. He had to settle for the silver medal with a final throw of . Toor commented on his performance, stating, “I was not able to deliver my best. I had a different target.”

Youngsters Shine in Elite Debut and Other Key Results

The championships also saw a standout performance from -year-old race walker Nitin Gupta. In his debut at an elite competition, the Asian under- race walk silver medallist secured the men’s race walk title with a time of in the humid morning conditions. Gupta, now employed with the Army, has his sights set on the Commonwealth Games and the World Junior Championships next year.

Other winners in the finals included:

• Men’s High Jump: Railways’ Rohit won the title with , benefiting from the withdrawal of Worlds sixth-place finisher Sarvesh Kushare due to a groin issue.
• Men’s Javelin: Shivam Lohakare () and Anand Singh () both earned direct qualification by surpassing the mark.
• Men’s Relay: Railways clocked for the win.
• Women’s Race Walk: Railways’ Munita Prajapati won with .
• Women’s Relay: Railways also took gold with a time of .