An electrifying Kalinga Stadium brought the 1st Indian Continental Tour to life on Sunday, August 10. Such was the decibel meter in Bhubaneshwar that the start of the men’s 100m sprint, the crown jewel of any athletics event, had to be reset thrice. Every time the sprinters were ready to explode out of the blocks, they were pulled back into their markers by unmissable cheers from the stands.
Bhubaneshwar turned up in good numbers despite the sweltering afternoon heat, which made life difficult not only for the athletes but for the spectators as well. Indian athletes set the tone from the very start of the event, keeping the audience on their feet. The crowd, composed mostly of school and college students from more than 10 institutions in the city, had a gala time in the first-of-its-kind event in the country.
The competition started in hot conditions at 4 PM IST. Vishal TK, India’s 400m specialist, won the gold medal in style, hitting 45.72 seconds, not far from his all-time best of 45.57, which came in Korea earlier this year.
Once Vishal set the tone, Annu Rani took over the scene. Fresh off her sensational performance in Poland, where she registered her first 60+ metre throw in over a year (62.59m), Annu led the field within her first three attempts, hitting a strong 62.01m.
The throw in Bhubaneshwar will do a world of good to the 32-year-old, who has seen a form slump over the past year. While Annu lit up the women’s javelin, her counterparts in the men’s event failed to deliver.
India’s starboy Sachin Yadav, one of the favourites to win the men’s event, was stunned by Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage, who secured direct qualification for the World Championships in Tokyo. Rumesh, who had bagged a bronze medal at the Neeraj Chopra Classic last month, improved his performance by over two metres to clinch the gold. His 86.50-metre throw left the Indian contingent far behind. Maharashtra’s Shivam Lokhare, just 20 years old, finished second with a distance of 80.73m.
While javelin was expected to be the star of the show, the loudest cheers came in the final hour of the event, when hometown favourite Animesh Kujur lined up for the men’s 200m final.
Animesh, who had hoped to clock close to his personal best, put in a blistering run of 20.77 seconds to win gold with relative ease. After the race, he stayed back to entertain the crowd with a trademark Usain Bolt celebration — a fitting tribute to the man he idolises.
Animesh earlier had voluntarily DNFed himself from the 100m competition, as he did not finish the heats on Sunday morning. While an explanation was not given behind the move it was perhaps the fact that he did not want to run four times in the humid conditions of Bhubaneshwar after a long and tiring season.
The athlete will be running in one more competition in Indian this season (Inter State tournament), and after that, head straight into the World Championships in Tokyo.
As curtains fall on the 1st Indian Continental Tour, the organisers will be pleased with the level of efficiency and enthusiasm they managed to generate. If India hopes to host a World Athletics Championship or even the Olympics one day, events like these are just the beginning. The next step will be to not only repeat them, but to raise the bar with each edition.
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