India's triple treat: Toor, Jyothi, Harmilan bag gold at Asian Indoor Athletics Championships
Tehran, Feb 17: Ace shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor and hurdler Jyothi Yarraji rewrote their national records, while long distance sensation Harmilan Bains sizzled on the track as India grabbed three gold medals on the opening day of the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships here on Saturday.
Two-time Asian Games gold medallist Toor hurled the shot put at a distance of 19.72 metres in his second attempt for a new national indoor record.
Kazakhstan's Ivanov Ivan (19.08m) and Iran's Mehdi Saberi (18.74m) took the silver and bronze medals respectively.
Earlier, Jyothi Yarraji marginally bettered her own national record by clocking 8.12s in the women's 60m hurdles to win the gold.
The 2022 Asian Games silver medallist in the 100m hurdles had the previous best timing of 8:13s at the same event last year which had earned her a runner-up finish.
The 24-year-old athlete topped her heat with a timing of 8:22s and in the final she did better to finish ahead of Japan's Asuka Tereda (8.21s).
Lui Lai Yiu of Hong Kong (8:26s) took the third place on the podium.
Jyothi is the reigning Asian Outdoor champion in the 100m hurdles, having won the title in Bangkok last year.
She had returned with a silver in the 100m hurdles from Hangzhou Asian Games after initially being disqualified.
Asian Games silver medallist Harmilan Bains blazed the track with a timing of 4:29.55 seconds to bag India's first gold of the day in the women's 1500m.
Harmilan exhibited sheer dominance, finishing over five seconds ahead of her nearest competitor, Kyrgyzstan's Kalil Kyzy Ainuska, who clinched the silver medal with a time of 4:35.29.
The third position was claimed by Kazakhstan's Bolatbekkyzy Aiana, crossing the finish line in 4:37.20.
She finished more than five seconds ahead of Kyrgyzstan's Kalil Kyzy Ainuska who bagged the silver with a timing of 4:35.29. Kazakhstan's Bolatbekkyzy Aiana came third clocking 4:37.20.
Shaili Singh and Nayana James also competed in the women's long jump final in the morning session, but failed to get podium positions, registering distances of 6.27m and 6.23m for fifth and sixth place finishes respectively.
Shiqi Xiong (6.55m) and Tan Mengyi (6.50m) of China had the gold-silver, while Hong Kong's Yue Nga Yan (6.35m) bagged the bronze.
Toor was the only Indian athlete to finish on top of the podium at last year's meet in Astana where the country had won a total of eight medals including six silver and one bronze.
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Mysuru: Bomb threat triggers high alert; dog squad, police intensify searches across city
Mysuru: A bomb threat email sent to Mysuru City Police Commissioner Seema Latkar in the early hours of Friday has triggered a high alert across the city. The email, received at around 1:30 am, warned that multiple bombs had been planted at various key locations in Mysuru and could detonate within 24 hours.
In response, Commissioner Latkar convened an emergency meeting with senior police officials and ordered immediate deployment of bomb detection and disposal squads. Dog squads and special teams have been conducting intensive checks at sensitive areas, including Mysuru railway station, the airport, city and suburban bus stands, Mysore Palace, major temples, hotels, and other crowded locations.
“All officers are on the ground, inspecting public places, hotels, and lodges. We are taking the threat very seriously as it concerns public safety. The entire city has been placed under high alert,” said Commissioner Seema Latkar.
Additional security has been deployed across all police stations, and district police units have been alerted to assist with surveillance, intelligence gathering, and precautionary measures.
As of now, no suspicious object has been found, but search operations continue. Authorities have appealed to the public to remain calm and cooperate with security personnel.
