India squander lead to settle for mixed relay silver
JAKARTA: Karnataka quartermiler MR Poovamma has stayed in athletics long enough to know how to pace her race. Winner of 4x400m women’s relay at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games and a bronze-medallist at the same venue in 400m, she was in the mixed relay team ahead of Nirmala Sheoran, who had finished fourth in the women’s 400m final, to provide solidity and help India flourish in an event making its debut in Jakarta.
Ranked No 2 in Asia in 400m, a lot was expected of Poovamma in the relay even though she had failed to qualify for the women’s 400m final. However, the 28-yearold undid the good work of Muhammed Anas, who had given India a solid cushion.
But the Asian Championships gold-medallist in 2017 at Bhubaneswar frittered away the lead, and by the time she handed the baton to Hima Das, Bahrain were simply cruising. Hima, who suffered the disappointment of being disqualified in 200m semi-final a little while back owing to a false start, still mustered the energy but it was not enough. She was only chasing shadows.
There was a controversy in the race as Hima claimed she was obstructed during baton exchange between her and Poovamma by Bahrain’s secondlap runner, who fell on the track
HIMA CLAIMED SHE WAS OBSTRUCTED DURING BATON EXCHANGE BETWEEN HER AND POOVAMMA BY BAHRAIN’S RUNNER, WHO FELL ON TRACK
after the exchange. The hearing will be held on Wednesday morning, but it’s unlikely that the decision will go in India’s favour.
Hima though gave it her all to bridge the gap but still could not match the Bahrain runner. And finally when the baton was handed over to Rajiv Arokia, it was just too late. The last Bahraini runner had already opened up a massive lead and no amount of hard paces could have stopped him from emerging a runaway winner. India finished with a time of 3:15.71 for silver, while Bahrain clocked 3:11.89. Kazakhstan were third clocking 3:19.52.
DUTEE ON TOP
In the absence of Hima Das, who was disqualified in the second semi-final after a false start, the only Indian hope in the 200m final will be Dutee Chand. She completed her semi-final in style, topping the charts with a time of 23.00, 0.01 seconds ahead of Bahrain’s Edidiong Odiong, to whom she had lost the 100m final. Her timing on Tuesday raised hopes of another medal.