Indian cyclists top Track Asia Cup standings with six gold medals

NEW DELHI: Indian cyclists produced an impressive performance, finishing on top with six gold, five silver and two bronze medals at the Track Asia Cup that concluded here on Sunday.

India were followed by the Indonesian team with four gold, three silver and one bronze while Hong Kong came third with four gold and two bronze.

In the men’s junior 200m sprint, India’s Esow Alben won gold, pipping Kazakhstan’s Dimitry Rezanov. India’s Jemsh Singh won the bronze medal.

The day’s second gold for the hosts came in the women’s junior 200m sprint where Mayuri Lute from Maharashtra clocked 12.263s to grab the pole position. In women’s ‘Elite Keirin’ final, India’s Sonali Chanu missed the bronze medal by a whisker.

SWIMMING NATIONALS

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Advait Page broke an eight-year-old national record by winning the 800m freestyle event on the last day of the National Aquatic Championship here on Sunday.

Page, holder of the best Indian record in the 800m freestyle, and Kushagra Rawat were neck to neck till the 650m mark and clearly leading the pack. Page used his trademark acceleration in the last part of the race to win gold with a time of 08:12.51.

Olympian Shivani Kataria of Haryana signed off the nationals in style as she showed her experience and timed her final sprint to perfection to beat Karnataka’s Khushi Dinesh. Shivani won gold with a time of 04:30.78.

Sajan Kumar bettered the 200m butterfly national record with a timing of 01:57.73. The local swimmer reigned supreme on home turf, winning gold in all his five events while setting a national record in each one of them.