Indian athletes struggle on day one at Tokyo World Athletics Championships
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India’s athletes struggled on the opening day of the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Saturday.
Race walkers in both the men’s and women’s 35km events failed to perform up to expectations, with Sandeep Kumar finishing 23rd and Priyanka Goswami 24th.
In the men’s 35km race walk, another Indian, Ram Baboo, was disqualified after receiving his fourth red card under rule TR54.7.5. Baboo, who had covered 24km at the time, had previously finished 27th at the Budapest World Championships two years ago and holds the national record with a time of 2 hours 29 minutes and 56 seconds.
He was among six walkers disqualified for the same reason, with 50 athletes starting the early morning race. Of them, 34 completed the race, while 10 others did not finish.
Sandeep Kumar, 39, had qualified for the event at the last minute. He clocked 2 hours 39 minutes and 15 seconds but could not beat his personal and season’s best of 2:35:06 under hot and humid conditions.
In the women’s 35km event, Priyanka Goswami completed the race in 3 hours 05 minutes and 58 seconds, finishing 24th in a field of 46 athletes. She was required to serve a three-and-a-half-minute penalty after receiving her third red card, but managed to finish the race. One athlete was disqualified after her fourth red card, and seven others did not finish. Priyanka’s national record stands at 2 hours 56 minutes and 34 seconds.
Meanwhile, in the women’s 1500m race, Pooja also faced disappointment. She finished 11th in heat number two with a time of 4 minutes 13.75 seconds in a 14-athlete field. Her personal best is 4:09.52. Pooja will also compete in the 800m event scheduled for September 18.