Shot putter Toor, 1500m runner Jinson crash out in qualification round in World Championships
Doha: India's Asian Games gold medallist duo of shot putter Tejinder Pal Singh Toor and 1500m runner Jinson Johnson crashed out of the World Athletics Championships in the qualification round here on Thursday.
The 24-year-old Toor produced season's best effort of 20.43m to finish eighth in the qualification round Group B and 18th overall out of 34 competitors while Jinson ran a below par 3 minutes 39.86 seconds to end 10th in his first round heats and 34th overall out of 43 runners.
Toor was the first to take the field but with eight shot putters from Group A having already touched the automatic final round qualifying mark of 20.90m, it was a difficult task for Toor, who has a personal best -- also national record -- of 20.75m, to make the cut.
He opened with a 20.43m, bettering his earlier season's best of 20.36m, but fouled his next attempt.
Pressure mounted on him as three competitors from Group B touched the automatic qualifying mark in their first attempt while another shot putter did the same in the second round.
That meant Toor will have to touch 20.90m and rewrite his own national record in his third and final attempt if he has to qualify for the finals.
But it was too tough a task for Toor as he could only come up with a 19.55m effort to crash out of the championships.
Those who touched 20.90m or at least 12 best performers were to make it to the final and eventually 12 shot putters from Group A and Group B combined were able to cross the automatic qualifying mark for the finals.
Reigning world champion and 2016 Rio Olympics bronze medallist Tomas Walsh of New Zealand led the finalists with a throw of 21.92m.
Toor had won a gold in the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta with his national record setting effort of 20.75m. He also won a gold in the Asian Championships at the same venue in April with a throw of 20.22m.
It was more disappointment for India as the 28-year-old Jinson, who broke his own national record just last month with a time of 3:35.24, failed to preserve enough energy for the home stretch as he was overtaken by one competitor after another to run more than four seconds outside his best timing.
He was among the leading five till the final bell but he fell behind towards the end. The top six from each of the three heats and the next six fastest advanced to the semifinals.
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Air India flights to North America, Europe to use alternative routes
New Delhi (PTI): Air India will operate its flights to North America and Europe using alternative routes over available airspaces in the Middle East and cancel six flights to various European cities on March 2.
The airline, which cancelled 50 international flights on Sunday, said it would extend suspension of all flights to and from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Qatar till 23:59 hours (IST) on March 2.
In a post on X on Sunday, the carrier said six flights, including Amritsar-Birmingham (AI117) and Birmingham-Delhi (AI114), would be cancelled on Monday.
Besides, AI151 and A152 flights between Delhi and Zurich, as well as AI157 and AI158 flights between Delhi and Copenhagen, would be cancelled on Monday.
“All other flights to North America and Europe will operate as per schedule using alternative routings over available airspaces in the Middle East, which is expected to add to the flying times.
"Additionally, flights to New York (JFK) and Newark (Liberty International) will operate with technical stops at Rome (Fiumicino Airport)," Air India said.
With stops in Rome, the flying time for Air India flights to North America would increase and also result in increased operating expenses.
Since the Iran and Iraq airspaces remain closed, officials said the airline would take the Egypt route to reach Europe, which would mean 30-40 minutes of additional flying time.
The flights would take the route through Oman, the southern part of Saudi Arabia and Egypt for European and North American destinations, the officials added.
The airline also said that it continues to closely monitor the situation and has carefully assessed the evolving circumstances across multiple parameters, including safety, security, airspace availability, and operational feasibility, before deciding on these operations for March 2.
In the wake of the escalating Middle East crisis, flight operations have been significantly disrupted, with the civil aviation ministry saying Indian carriers cancelled 350 international flights on Sunday.
