Archana Suseendran spent had a sleepless night and did not get the time that she desired to recover between the 200m semifinal heats and the final in the National Inter-State Athletics Championships but she clocked 23.39 seconds here today to show that the time of 23.18 that she managed in Patiala less than a fortnight ago was not a flash in the pan.
Besides the two 5000m races that saw G Lakshmanan (Tamil Nadu) and Parul Chaudhary (Uttar Pradesh) follow the old tactic of settling down to a comfortable pace behind the leaders and then producing a sprint finish on the final home straight, there was little by way of quality or competition for the fans on a humid day.
Archana’s claim that she does not depend on nutritional supplements comes across as an oddity at a time when food supplements are the order of the day – and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports earmarks a budget for National campers to be provided supplements. “My father, a kabaddi player, has expressly prohibited me from consuming supplements,” she said, a glint in her eyes.
“I prefer to eat vegetarian food that is available in the camps and when I travel away from home,” she said, insisting that it is her training alone that has helped her improve from a 24-second-plus runner over 200m to being a 23.18 runner this season. “I believe it is due to the endurance training – 150m repetitions – that my coach in the National camp (Stashuk Vallerri) has put me through.”
Asked if the Odia sprinters Dutee Chand and Srabani Nanda’s presence would have pushed to run faster, she was pragmatic. “My career-best time came when I ran a race with only one other competitors in Patiala. It does not matter how many lanes are occupied. I just want to run smart and finish in the fastest time possible on a given day,” she said
She gives the impression that, at 25 years of age, she has got as far as she can go. “I knew that the World Championships qualifying standard (23.02) was not within my reach today. I have achieved my goals and must find another,” she said, having got her career-best times in the 100m (11.53 seconds) and 200m (23.18) in the matter of one evening just a few days ago in Patiala.
Saraswati Saha Dey is the only Indian who has run the 200m under 23 seconds. She did it first, running in 22.82 seconds in Ludhiana on August 28, 2002 and followed it up with a 22.83-second effort on few days later in New Delhi. Perhaps, the 2013 South Asian junior 100m champion can recalibrate her goal with the National record as the benchmark.
The results (finals):
Men:
5000m: 1. G Lakshmanan (Tamil Nadu) 14:34.30; 2. Bugatha Srinu (Andhra Pradesh) 14:35.30; 3. Man Singh (Uttarakhand) 14:40.63.
Pole vault: 1. Jessan (Kerala) 4.90m; 2. Ebin Sunny (Kerala) 4.80; 3. Bineesh Jacob (Karnataka) 4.80.
Women:
200m: 1. Archana Suseendran (Tamil Nadu) 23.39 seconds; 2. V Revathi (Tamil Nadu) 23.59; 3. Dhana Lakshmi (Tamil Nadu) 24.22.
5000m: 1. Parul Chaudhary (Uttar Pradesh) 17:51.38; 2. L Suriya (Tamil Nadu) 17:51.88; 3. Arati Patil (Maharashtra) 17:55.90.
Discus throw: 1. Navjeet Kaur Dhillon (Punjab) 55.42m; 2. Suravi Biswas (West Bengal) 49.44; 3. Pramila (Rajasthan) 47.54.
Hammer throw: 1. Manju Bala (Rajasthan) 57.71m; 2. Jyoti Jakhar (Haryana) 55.71; 3. Anmol Kaur (Punjab) 54.85.
High jump: 1. Athira Somaraj (Kerala) 1.76m; 2. Libia Shaji (Kerala) 1.76; 3. Laimwn Nazary (Assam) 1.73.
20km walk: 1. B Soumya (Kerala) 1:48:19.35; 2. Priyanka Goswai (Uttar Pradesh) 1:48:21.61; 3. Sonal Sukhwal (Rajasthan) 1:48:40.12.
Mixed:
4x400m relay: 1. Kerala (Kannan C, PO Sayana, S Rajendran and NH Faiyiz) 3:31.62; 2. Delhi 3:33.85; 3. Maharashtra 3:37.47.
