13 win again – Asian Grand Prix, Guwahati

India's triple jumper Renjith Maheswary joined the 17-metre club on a day of considerable elation for the home athletes as the second leg of the 2007 Asian Grand Prix circuit took place at the Indira Gandhi Stadium here today.

Maheswary's 17.04m jump that erased a 26-year-old national record, was the high point for the Indians on a day when Chitra K. Soman upset Asian Games champion Olga Tereshkova in the women's 400m, and Joseph Abraham broke through the 50-second barrier (49.52) for the 400m Hurdles while coming second behind Chinese Meng Yan (49.50).

Meng Yan, the Asian Games silver medallist, was one among 13 athletes who ended the day with a perfect score card of two victories following success both here and at the opening leg of the Asian GP circuit in Bangkok (19 June). 

There is one further meeting to be contested in Pune, India, on 27 June.

Indian record breaches the 17m barrier

Those 13 double winners also included Maheswary who now has two sensational victories over the Asian Games champion Li Yanxi of China who has topped the Asian lists the past two years.

Barring the first two rounds where Li Yanxi led, Maheswary was in control as he reeled off a jump of 16.89 metres in the third round, bettering Mohinder Singh Gill's Indian record of 16.79 (set in Fresno, US, in 1971), and then followed with his a 17.04 that put him firmly in the saddle.

Roman Valiyev, the Kazakh who took the silver behind Li Yanxi in the Doha Asian Games last year, finished second again, with 16.76. The Chinese was third with 16.70 metres.

"I have been waiting for this for the past four years," said the 22-year-old Maheswary who hails from the southern Indian state of Kerala. It was the oldest record in the Indian books that he had bettered and Maheswary was naturally jubilant as he acknowledged the cheers of a sizeable crowd and was greeted by fellow athletes and coaches.

Maheswary has qualified for both the World Championships in Osaka and the Beijing Olympic Games. He had already booked his Osaka berth last month by jumping 16.72 metres in Kolkata.

Asian season lead for Khubbieva

The hot and humid conditions, though taxing for the middle distance runners, were welcomed by the sprinters and jumpers, with no one being more elated than Susanthika Jayasinghe after she clocked a 11.25 behind Uzbek Guzel Khubbieva's Asian-leading mark of 11.24 seconds in the women's 100 metres.

It was the second time on this circuit that the Uzbek had beaten the Sri Lankan, but Jayasinghe was happy with the effort. “It is my best in two years. Yes, the conditions were good,” she said.

The 31-year-old Sri Lankan said that she was gradually building up towards the World Championships in Osaka, where she planned to concentrate on the 200 metres. “I am not that crazy any more; I am more matured and I know how to go step by step,” said Jayasinghe, indicating that she had not gone all out here.

Chinese take 1 – 2, as in Bangkok

The conditions were of no great use to Chinese women's triple jumper Xie Limei or so it looked as she took the win with 14.16m. She had set an Asian record of 14.73 metres while winning the first leg in Bangkok. The previous Area record had stood in the name of countrywoman Huang Qiuyan since 2001 at 14.72m. As in Bangkok, team-mate Li Qian finished second.

The women's Triple Jump and men's Shot Put were events that took place amidst the cultural programme of the opening ceremony at which the Assam Chief Minister, Mr Tarun Gogoi, and India's Sports Minister, Mr. Mani Shankar Aiyar were present. The opening ceremony got delayed upsetting the schedule of events by nearly an hour.

Kuwaiti Ahmed Gholum (18.60m) took the Shot Put title making light of the drum-beats and the commotion, while Meng Yan, Abraham and the rest took in their stride a 25-minute hold-up after the runners were called in for the 400 metres hurdles.

Chinese Wen Yongyi who had carried his 2006 winning spree to the opening leg this year was beaten by Thai Wachara Sondee in the men's 100 metres, 10.34 to 10.36. Sittichai Suwonprateep took third. The Thais later won the sprint relay as well though that victory was on expected lines.

Anna Ustinova of Kazakhstan beat her compatriot and Asian Games champion Marina Aitova in women's High Jump. Ustinova was left alone at 1.91 with three below her tying at 1.88 metres. Aitova managed only fourth place though she too had cleared 1.88.

George was way off form

Indian Surender Singh clocked a personal best 7:57.87 while winning the men's 3000 metres, while Sinimole Paulose in the women's 1500 metres and Anju George in the Long Jump added to the Indian victory tally.

George, coming back after the Doha Asian Games in December, was way off form, though there was no one to challenge her. She managed just 6.28 metres. Husband-coach Bobby George mentioned quadriceps stiffness as having put the brakes on the star jumper's season debut. George is yet to qualify for the World Championships.

Chitra Soman's victory over Tereshkova in the women's 400 metres could have been expected since the Indian was fresh from a rigorous spell of training in the national  camp and was being tipped to clock some quick timings. In a race that she dominated from the gun, Soman, however managed only a modest 53.01. "I ran the first 200 too fast," said Soman.

Soman was later part of the 4x400m relay team that surprisingly got beaten by China. India's squad were the Asian Games champions last year in Doha and are among the teams that have already qualified for the Osaka World Championships. The Chinese gold came in 3:32.14, with India second in 3:36.33, one of their worst runs of recent times.

By an IAAF Correspondent

Click here for Bangkok report (19 June)

RESULTS:

Men

100m: 1. Wachara Sondee (Tha) 10.34, 2. Wen Yongyi (Chn) 10.36, 3. Sittichai Suwonprateep (Tha) 10.45.

400m: 1. Wang Liangyu (Chn) 46.16, 2. Prasanna Amarasekara (Sri) 46.79, 3. K. M. Binu (Ind) 47.03.

1500m: 1. Sajad Moradi (Iri) 3: 39.12, 2. Chatholi. Hamza (Ind) 3:41.68, 3. Sajeesh Joseph (Ind) 3:42.57.

3000m: 1. Surender Singh (Ind) 7: 57.87, 2. Sunil Kumar (Ind) 8:15.20, 3. Chaminda Wijekoon (Sri) 8:30.59.

400m Hurdles: 1. Meng Yan (Chn) 49.50, 2. Joseph Abraham (Ind) 49.52, 3. Yevgeniy Meleshenko (Kaz) 50.58.

High Jump: 1. Sergey Zasimovich (Kaz) 2.18, 2. Kim Young-Min (Kor) 2.14, 3. Hari Sankar Roy (Ind) 2.14.

Triple Jump: 1. Renjith Maheswary (Ind) 17.04, 2. Roman Valiyev (Kaz) 16.76, 3. Li Yanxi (Chn) 16.70.

Shot Put: 1. Ahmed Gholum (Kuw) 18.60, 2. Polyemg Chatchawai (Tha) 17.95, 3. Saurabh Vij (Ind) 17.65.

Discus Throw: 1. Abbas Samimi (Iri) 60.91, 2.Vikas Gowda (Ind) 58..86, 3. Wu Tao (Chn) 57.64.

4x100m relay: 1. Thailand 39.85, 2. India 40.89, 3. Singapore 40.90.

4x400m relay: 1. Sri Lanka 3: 07.82, 2. Malaysia 3:10.61, 3. Thailand 3:10.63.

Women

100m: 1. Guzel Khubbieva (Uzb) 11.24, 2. Susanthika Jayasinghe (Sri) 11.25, 3. Vu Thi Huong (Vie) 11.47.

400m: 1. Chitra Soman (Ind) 53.01, 2. Marina Maslyonko (Kaz) 53.68, 3.. Olga Tereshkova (Kaz) 53.81.

1500m: 1. Sinimole Paulose (Ind) 4: 15.53, 2. Sushma (Ind) 4:20.07, 3. Svetlana Lukasheva (Kaz) 4:20.93.

100m Hurdles: 1. Anastasya Vinogradova (Kaz) 13.05, 2. Erawati Dedeh (Ina) 13.71, 3. Sheena Atilano (Phi) 13.92.

High Jump: 1. Anna Ustinova (Kaz) 1.91, 2. Bui Thi Nhung (Vie) 1.88, 3. Nadezdah Dusanova (Uzb) 1.88.

Long Jump: 1. Anju Bobby George (Ind) 6.28, 2. Susmita Singha Roy (Ind) 5.82, 3. Priya Devi (Ind) 5.79.

Triple Jump: 1. Xie Limei (Chn) 14.16, 2. Li Qian (Chn) 13.88, 3. Rakhima Sardi (Kgz) 13.53.

Shot Put: 1. Li Ling (Chn) 18.78, 2. Lee Mi-Young (Kor) 16.62, 3. Lin Chiya-Ying (Tpe) 16.58.

Javelin Throw: 1. Phamang Buoban (Tha) 56.23, 2. Xue Juan (Chn) 54.16, 3. Liliya Dusmetova (Uzb) 51.36.

4x100m relay: 1. Thailand 44.43, 2. China 44.53, 3. India 47.33.

4x400m relay: 1. China 3: 32.14, 2. India 3:36.33, 3. Kazakhstan 3:43.86.

Click here for full results