Bhubaneshwar: The triple jump trio of Praveen Chithravel, Abdulla Aboobacker and Eldhose Paul earned the qualification for the Asian Games 2023 to end Day-3 of the National Inter-state Senior Athletics Championship on a high note, here on Sunday.
Despite coming fresh out of an injury, Chithravel showed no signs of slowing down as he clinched gold with a jump of 17.07 metres which was easily over the 16.60 metres qualification mark of the Asian Games.
While his Inspire Institute of Sports (IIS) teammates, Aboobacker bagged silver with a best jump of 16.88 metres and Paul settled for bronze with a best of 16.75 metres.
It was fascinating to see yet another consistent jump from the triple jump national record holder Chithravel, who has been constantly breaching the 17-metre mark since the Indian Open Throws and Jumps held in March at the Inspire Institute of Sport.
Having already qualified for the World Championships with a 17.37-metre leap in Havana, the 22-year-old jumper spoke about his approach for the Inter-State Championship and said after coming off the injury his main target was to qualify for Asian games.
“I was coming on the back of an injury; hence, my objective was to qualify safely for the Asian Games, hence, I didn’t push myself too hard. In addition, we have a packed season with sera competitions and I have to keep the winning run going. I am thankful to the coach and the entire team for helping me to push through,” said Chithravel.
He further talked about his maiden appearance at the Diamond League and said: “I have spoken to coach Betanzos and he is hopeful that we will get an entry into the Monaco Diamond League to be held on July 21, 2023, owing to the string of results we have put together. I am looking forward to a possible appearance later next month.”
Speaking about the niggle that he was carrying since his jump in Cuba last month, Chithravel emphasised that his recovery has been going well.
“Last month I had got a quadricep stretch and have been in recovery since then. I am glad that I feel fully fit now and I am raring to go in the coming competitions,” he said.
(IANS)
