Siddhanth flops at World Indoors
BIRMINGHAM: The Indian challenge at the World Indoor Championships came to a sorry end as Siddhanth Thingalaya bowed out finishing sixth in heats.
The 27-year-old from Mumbai, who holds the national record for both the 60m and 110m hurdles, failed miserably, with a slow start ending his challenge. Thingalaya timed 7.93s, slower by 0.23s of his timing at the UW preview meet in Seattle last year. Thingalaya said: “I didn’t anticipate the gun-shot and that ruined it. My reaction wasn’t good.” Thingalaya’s was the slowest reaction time of the pool, a dismal 0.268s.
However, Thingalaya stated that he wasn’t going to be bogged down by the failure and would rather take it in his stride given that he would be flying back to India to take part in the Nationals at Patiala.
Christian Coleman was speaking to reporters in the mixed zone after setting a championship record of 6.37s while clinching the 60m gold when Maurice Greene called him up. Coleman had broken Greene’s record of 6.39s a couple of weeks back.
While they exchanged their pleasantries, Coleman’s expression finally changed to what it should be for a world champion. “I just want to try and etch my name in history. I don’t think much. I focus on my routine and just try to come out and win,” he told reporters.
In the only middle-distance event for women on the penultimate day, Ethopian Genzebe Dibaba lived up to her reputation as she clinched gold in the 1500m, becoming only the second woman in history to complete a 15003000m double at the World Indoor Championships. Romanian Gabriela Szabo had achieved the feat back in 1999 at Maebashi, Japan. Dibaba clocked 4:05.27.
In the men’s 800m, Poland’s Adam Kszczot won at 1:47.47 and dedicated the victory to his son who was born last year. New Zealand’s Tomas Walsh won the shot put (22.31) while American Will Claye won the triple jump at 17.43m.
It was also an American one-two in the 60m hurdles with Kendra Harrison and Christina Manning topping the chart followed by Holland’s Nadine Vissier.