Indian Athletics Series-5: Tajinderpal Singh Toor wins shot put title in Sangrur

Asian Games champion Tajinderpal Singh Toor is gearing up for the upcoming Senior National Federation Cup later this month in Ranchi.

31-year-old seasoned campaigner dominated the men’s shot put final at the fifth leg of the Indian Athletics Series in Sangrur, Punjab, on Saturday.

His best throw of 19.97m was enough for the veteran putter to bag gold. “Main goal this season is to peak in major international meets,” says the national record holder.

Toor’s season best of 21.03m was recorded earlier in April at the Delhi leg of the Indian Athletics Series.

The Sangrur leg was also a season opener for two-time Olympian and Asian Games champion Annu Rani, to test her preparation for the challenging season ahead.

The 33-year-old finished third with a throw of 55.78m in an exciting women’s javelin throw event. Haryana’s Shilpa Rani was first (57.65m) while Rashmi K of Andhra Pradesh took the second spot (56.15m).

Harjit Singh of the Air Force and Fatema Begam of Tripura emerged as the fastest runners in Sangrur, winning the title in their respective 100m finals. Fatema also won the women’s 200m dash.

Haryana’s Kiran Pahal also made a comeback to the circuit, winning the 400m title with a time of 54.07 seconds. Meanwhile, Prakhar Sharma (46.90s) won the men’s 400m title.

Other Title Winners of the day:

Men Track: 200m: Dharambir (21.49s), 800m: Vinod Kumar (1:49.62s), 1500m: Vinod Singh (3:48.46s), 5000m: Sharashank M (14:54.36s), 10,000m: Pankaj Kumar (30:04.77s), 3000m steeplechase: Prince Raj Mishra (9:04.26s)

Men’s Field: Triple jump: Jagseer Singh (15.11m), Long jump: Amitra Ghosh (7.85m), High jump: Gurjeet S (2.12m), Pole vault: Aayush Tanwar (4.50m), Hammer throw: Damneet Singh (68.37m), Javelin throw: Rohit Yadav (78.82m)

Women’s Field: 1500m: Preeti Yadav (4:37.53s), 5,000m: Anita (17:49.56s), 10,000m: Sonam (35:54.70s), 3,000m steeplechase: Rebi Pal (11:10.08s)

Women’s Track: Triple jump: Niharika Vashist (13.13m), High jump: Reet Rathor (1.80m), Long jump: Nidhi (5.85m), Pole vault: Nidhi (3.20m), Hammer throw: Kulvinder Kaur (57.42m), Shot put: Manpreet Kaur (17.33m)