Doha, Dec 11: The unheralded O P Jaisha emerged as
India's new long distance queen as she clinched a bronze medal
alongwith experienced discus thrower Krishna Punia in the
showpiece athletics event of the Asian Games here on Monday.
The 23-year-old Jaisha came to spotlight by winning the
bronze in women's 5000m run with a personal best timing of
15:41.91 on a day which saw the Indian win two bronze medals
at the grand Khalifa Stadium.
After Jaisha had done her bit on the track, the
29-year-old Krishna Punia added another medal to India's kitty
by grabbing bronze in the women's discus throw event with a
personal best throw of 61.53 m, finishing behind China's Aimin
Song and Ma Xuejun.
With the addition of two more bronze, India's medal count
in athletics has gone up to four silver and three bronze
medals.
Jaisha, a gold-medal winner in the 2006 SAF games in
Colombo, slightly miscalculated her final burst as she forged
ahead from the leading pack but lost steam towards the finish
tape.
"For the last 300m I tried to accelerate but I could not
make it. I am happy with the bronze medal. I will try to
improve more in future meets", Jaisha said.
China's Fei Xue pipped her at the post to pocket the gold
medal with a timing of 15:40.12 while Japan's Kayo Sugihara
took home the silver with an effort of 15:40.87.
Star athlete Anju Bobby George, who won a silver medal in
the women's long jump event yesterday, skipped the triple
jump event owing to fever and a back strain.
In the men's shot put event, India's Navpreet Singh
finished fourth by hurling the iron ball to a distance of
18.99 m, achieving his best throw in his sixth and last
attempt.
Another Indian in the fray, Vikas Gowda, finished
a disappointing seventh with a rather poor effort of 18.09 m.
Four of his throws were foul and the best throw was recorded
in his third attempt.
Saudi Arabia's Sultan Abdulmajeed al Hebshi claimed the
gold with a personal best throw of 20.42 while Qatar's Khaled
Habash al Suwaidi (20.05) and Taipei's Ming Chang (19.45) took
the silver and bronze medals respectively.
Bureau Report
