It was a disappointing start for India in the track and field events of the Rio Games as all three athletes, including discus thrower Vikas Gowda, fell by the wayside at the qualification stage itself, here yesterday.
Indiau00c3u00a2u00c2u0080u00c2u0099s Vikas Gowda during the Qualifying Round yesterday
Rio de Janeiro: It was a disappointing start for India in the track and field events of the Rio Games as all three athletes, including discus thrower Vikas Gowda, fell by the wayside at the qualification stage itself, here yesterday.
India’s Vikas Gowda during the Qualifying Round yesterday
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Thirty three-year-old Gowda, in his fourth straight Olympics, produced an utterly below-par performance with a best throw of 58.99m to finish 28th overall out of 34 competitors. He finished 16th in a field of 18 in Group B qualification round.
Gowda, who holds the national record of 66.28m, had come into the Olympics without taking part in any competition this year due to a shoulder injury. He had last taken part in a competition in September last year in the ISTAF Meet in Berlin.
The Mysore-born US-based Indian, the reigning Asian champion, began with a 57.59m and improved by more than a metre to 58.99m in his second throw before producing a 58.70m in his third and final attempt.
This has been the worst performance for Gowda, who won a gold in the 2014 Commonwealth Games and a silver in the 2014 Asian Games, in his four appearances in the Olympics. “My performance was not very good today. Frustrating. Just had a lot of bad luck this year. Lot of injuries. Was not able to train until three-four weeks ago. Obviously, that was not enough time to prepare,” Gowda said. In women’s shot put, national record holder Manpreet Kaur finished a disappointing 23rd overall out of 35 competitors with a best throw if 17.06m. In 800m race, Jinson Johnson failed to qualify for the semi-finals after finishing fifth with a modest timing of 1:47.27secs in Heat number 3.
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