Sandeep Kumar retains 50km walk title

PUNE: Former international Sandeep Kumar of Haryana proved his endurance once again as he claimed the men's 50km gold for the second time in a row in the second National Open race walking championships in Kochi, Kerala, on Sunday.
With the closest contender, Rudra Pratap from Services fading out after 30 km, Kumar had to push himself alone till the finish in the gruelling event.
Naturally, his timing of 4hr 8minute 54seconds was fairly below his personal best of 4:02:19 that he recorded in the inaugural edition last year.
"I am looking for a better performance during the IAAF Race Waling World Cup at Taicang, China," Sandeep told the media after his triumph.
Manish Singh Rawat of Uttarakhand (4:09:38) and Surinder Singh from Punjab (4:14:14) finished behind him for the silver and bronze medal positions respectively, an Athletics Federation of India release said.
Kerala sensation KT Neena extended her domination by winning the 10km walk for junior women on debut.
Neena, who holds the national record for youth (Under-18) 5km race walk, held her own against rivals three years elder to her by finishing in 51 minutes 27 seconds.
Punjab's Priyanka replicated her last year's runner-up performance with a timing of 52:03 while another home contender, AM Binsy, settled for bronze in 54:06.
In the junior men's classification, Haryana's Vijay finished ahead of the competition in 44:56, but was disqualified after receiving three red cards for improper walking.
Punjab's Mahendra Pratap Singh, who had won the youth boys' title in the Junior Nationals at Bangalore two months ago, was awarded the gold after clocking 45:01.
Shailesh Kumar (46:34) won the silver and Manjit Singh (47:46) the bronze.
There was confusion as the officials delayed confirming the results.
"There was a delay in getting the verdict from other judges at different points of the course for non-availability of walkie-talkie. However such decision (of informing the disqualification of a walker after the race) is permissible under the IAAF rules," said S Vegiyathuman, the international race walking judge from Malaysia.