Track and field not India’s cup of tea, paddlers falter

GLASGOW: On a disappointing day in athletics, shot putter Om Parkash Singh Karhana failed to reach the men’s final after finishing fifth in the Group B qualification at the Hampden Park Stadium.

Karhana threw a best of 18.98m in his third and final attempt. His first two throws went for 17.67m and 18.54m, respectively.

Narayana Sharadha failed to qualify for the women’s 100m semifinals after finishing fifth out of eight competitors in the heats. The 27-year-old Chennai girl finished at 11.81 seconds.

Some cheer was in store as boxer Manoj Kumar entered the quarterfinals of the men’s 64 kg event. The 27-year-old defeated Canadian Arthur Biyarslanov 2:1 in the Round of 16 at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre.

Manoj won the first two rounds with the score-line of 29 points to Biyarslanov’s 28. Though the Canadian came back to win the third and final round with reversed scores, it was too late as the judges ruled in favour of the Indian. In the last eight, Manoj will take on England’s Samuel Maxwell on Tuesday.

India’s women paddlers missed out on the team bronze, losing to Australia 1-3 at the Scotstoun Table Tennis Centre.

India lost the first singles but won the second to tie the scores 1-1. The 2010 Games silver medallists went on to lose the doubles and singles tie to slump to a 1-3 defeat.

Meanwhile, India women failed to keep their winning momentum going as they were blanked 0-3 by higher-ranked New Zealand in their second group match.

India, ranked 13th in the world, showed glimpses of individual brilliance but failed to combine as a team to be able to break the resolute defence of the fourthranked Black Sticks.

For New Zealand, Anita Punt scored two goals while Gemma Flynn scored the other. It took New Zealand just three minutes to open the scoring, utilising their first penalty corner and scoring off a goal-mouth scramble.