Producing a great burst of speed Diandra Valladares of Mumbai Port Trust grabbed all the attention as she sprinted to the women’s 100 metres gold in a new meet record time on the opening day of the 43rd Bombay YMCA State-Level Annual Athletic Meet 2019, organized under the auspices of the MCDAAA by the Bombay YMCA Physical Education Department, at the University Pavilion, Marine Lines on Thursday morning.
Diandra Valladares
The 20-year-old Diandra had a hesitant start, but she quickly recovered and got into her stride as she sprinted past the rest of the field to cross the finish line in a record time of 11.9 seconds. Her effort was one second better than the previous best set by Akshaya Ganeshan Iyer last year.
Aishwarya Thirumoorthi of Achievers Sports Club took silver in 12.3 secs, followed by Saroj Shetty of Sprinters Sports Club who claimed bronze in 12.5 secs.
Satara’s Aniruddha Gujar of Shree Sidheshwar SC emerged as the fastest man by winning the men’s 100 metres Gold in a 10.6 secs. Peter Denzil of St. Xavier’s College, Fort grabbed the Silver medal in 10.8 secs and the Bronze went to Ajay Rana of Sprinters Sports Club in 11.1 secs.
However, Dandra was not satisfied with her performance. “I was confident of winning, but I did not get a good start. My body was not warmed up sufficiently, but after a couple of strides I managed to get into a rhythm which helped to burst to the front and to maintain the lead before breasting the tape in first position. I am extremely excited to win the Gold with a new meet record, but overall I am not satisfied with today’s performance as I could have improved on my personal best of 11.7 secs which I had set at the Senior State Championship in Nashik in 2017,” said a smiling Diandra, who trains at the Fr. Agnel Gymkhana.
Sneha Mirgal of Udayachal School, Vikhroli and Akansha Shelar of Spandan Eco Foundation won Gold medals in the Girl’s Under-16 800 metres and Girls’ Under-18 800 metres.
Running steady race Sneha finished first clocking a time of 62.9 secs and was followed by Kashish Jain of Chembur Track Masters (64.4secs) and Reshma Gore of Track & Field Master (64.5secs) in the second and third place respectively.
Earlier, the athletes failed to take advantage of the chilly weather conditions in the morning and produced poor timings in the men’s 5000 metres event. Pratik Umbarkar of Spandan Eco Foundation was first in 16:40.9secs, while Karon H. Moli of Uran Gymkhana took second place in 16:41.4secs and the third place was won by Aditya Bhosale of Spandan in 16:42.6secs.
Results – Girls’ Under-16 – 400m: 1. Sneha Mirgal (Udayachal School) – 62.9s, 2. Kashish Jain (Chembur Track Masters) – 64.4s, 3. Reshma Gore (Track & Field master) – 64.5s.
Girls’ Under-18 – 800m: 1. Akansha Shelar (Spandan Eco Foundation) 2:28.1 secs, 2. Akansha Gavade (Achievers Sporst Club) – 2:29.5s, 3. Siddhi Shimpi (Achievers SC) – 2:32.6s.
Women – 100m (final): 1. Diandra Valladares (Mumbai Port Trust) – 1.9s (NMR), 2. Aishwarya Thirumoorthi (Achievers SC) – 12.3s, 3. Saroj Shetty (Sprinters Sports Club) – 12.5s.
Men – 100m: 1. Aniruddha Gujar (Shree Sidheshwar SC, Satara) – 10.6s, 2. Peter Denzil (St. Xavier’s College) – 10.8s, 3. Ajay Rana (Sprinters SC) – 11.1s.
5000m: 1. Pratik Umbarkar (Spandan EF) – 16:40.9s, 2. Karon H. Moli (Uran Gymkhana) – 16:41.4s, 3 Aditya Bhosale (Spandan EF) – 16:42.6s.