Kerala athlete PU Chitra bagged gold for India in the women’s 1500m race on Wednesday at the Asian Athletics Championships in Doha. PU Chitra’s victory came in 4 minutes 14.56 seconds on the concluding day of the championships.
The win also ensured Chitra's qualification for the IAAF World Championships in September. With the victory, she also defended her 1500m title. Chitra had won gold in the 2017 edition as well in Bhubaneswar, finishing the race in 4 minutes 17.92 seconds.
"I had become a little nervous towards the end being next to the Bahraini runner (Gashaw Tigest). She had beat me to third place in the Asian Games. I had to really push hard in the end," Chitra told IANS after the race.
This was India’s third gold in the championships.
In the last Asian Athletics Championships held in 2017, PU Chitra’s name had become embroiled in a controversy after she was not included in the list of athletes to represent India. It was after the direction of the Kerala High Court that her name was included in the 2017 list. She had also received overwhelming support from all sections of the public for her fight against the Athletics Federation of India, which did not give her a ticket initially.
She answered her critics by later winning gold in the championships.
Meanwhile, sprinter Dutee Chand won the first medal of the day for India as she managed a season best timing of 23.24 seconds to win bronze in the 200m race.
"I am really very happy. I missed out on a medal in the 100m and the relay. I put too much effort in 100m and was not sure of a medal in 200m. I just did my best and I am happy," Dutee told IANS.
Though Dutee was happy with her effort, her season-best timing of 23.24 seconds will not help her make it to the World Championships. Her timing was just 0.001 seconds quicker than the fourth placed runner and her position was confirmed after it was flashed on the giant screen at the Khalifa Stadium.
In the men's 1500m race, Ajay Kumar Saroj won a silver clocking 3:43.18. In women's discus throw, Kamalpreet Kaur and Navjeet Kaur Dhillon finished fourth and fifth respectively.
(With inputs from IANS)