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An 18-member Odisha squad bagged a total of seven medals in the athletics competition of the 37th National Games, which was held at the Athletics Stadium in Bambolim in Goa from 29 October to 3 November 2023. The seven medals featured one gold, three silver and three bronze.
Woman Olympian Srabani Nanda was the most successful Odisha athlete, winning the lone gold medal in 200m run and one silver medal in 100m run. The 34-year-old Srabani secured the first medal for Odisha, finishing second in 100m sprint with a time of 11.50 seconds.
The highly experienced Srabani caused a major upset in 200m run as she stunned hot favourite Jyothi Yarraji (Andhra Pradesh) in the final today. While the Odisha ace won the gold medal with a time of 23.69 seconds, Yarraji settled for bronze, clocking 23.95 seconds. Kamaljeet Kaur (Punjab) won the silver with a time of 23.84 seconds.
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But Odisha javeline sensation Kishore Kumar Jena failed to live upto expectations and contended himself to a bronze medal today. Asian Games silver medallist Jena looked tired and underprepared at the National Games and finished third with a throw of 78.47 metres.
This effort was far below his personal best of 87.54m which gave him the silver medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games one month back. The 37th National Games was the third major competition for Kishore after the World Championship in August and Asian Games in October.
Post his return from Hangzhou, Jena was busy in attending felicitation functions and other promotional events. He found little time to rest and recharge his battery for the National Games. Overnight fame has created a new challenge for Jena, who has to find a way to handle it without neglecting his main job as leading javelin thrower of the world.
Swadhin Kumar Majhi captured the men high jump bronze medal with a leap of 2.08 metres on the opening day. A Graceson Jeeva won one silver medal in men 110m hurdles with a time of 14.13 seconds on October 30. Odisha men 4x100m relay team, comprising Amiya Mallick, Aryan Ekka, Lalu Prasad Bhoi and Dondapati Jayaram grabbed the silver medal with a time of 40.13 seconds on 31 October 2023. Odisha narrowly missed a medal in women 100m hurdles as Pragyan Sahu finished fourth, clocking 13.51 seconds.
Animesh Kujur won the third and last bronze medal for Odisha, finishing third in men 200m run, clocking 20.99 seconds. This was a below-par performance for Kujur, who won one gold medal each with new meet record last month at the National Senior and National U-23 Open Championships in Bengaluru and Chandigarh respectively. Kujur originally hails from Chhattisgarh and trains at ORF Athletics HPC, Bhubaneswar.
Odisha missed two bronze medals narrowly as Pragyan Prasanti Sahu and Susmita Tigga finished fourth in women 100m hurdles and 3000m steeplechase events respectively.
ODISHA SQUAD (18):
Women (9): Srabani Nanda, Pragyan Prasant Sahu, Manisha Merel, Sabita Toppo, Sukhi Baskey, Madhumita Deb, Susmita Tigga, Salmi Kispotta, Divya Sandilya.
Men (9): Amiya Kumar Mallick, Dondapati Mrutayam Jayaram, Animesh Kujur, Lalu Prasad Bhoi, Aryan Ekka, Abhinash Sahu, Swadhin Kumar Majhi, Kishore Kumar Jena, Vikrant Malik.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PICS --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOP: Odisha Olympian Srabani Nanda poses with her 200m gold medal at the 37th National Games in Goa on 2 November 2023.
RIGHT: Odisha high-jumper Swadhin Kumar Majhi with his bronze medal at the 37th National Games in Goa on 29 October 2023.
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