World Athletics Championships: Santhosh Kumar Tamilarsan, Sarvesh Anil Kushare bow out in 400m hurdles and high jump

The World Athletics Championships in Budapest continued to be a difficult endeavour for Indians as Santhosh Kumar Tamilarasan and Sarvesh Anil Kushare faced elimination on the second day of the event. Both athletes failed to advance in the 400m hurdles heat race and high jump qualification round respectively on Sunday.

Tamilarasan’s performance saw him finish seventh in heat number three of the 400m hurdles with a recorded time of 50.46 seconds, falling short of the mark needed to progress to the semi-finals. The competition rules stated that the top four finishers in each of the five heats, along with the four fastest runners, would qualify for the semi-finals.

Kushare’s high jump attempt proved to be challenging as he was unable to clear the 2.25m height in three tries. This led to an 11th-place finish in the qualification round of Group B and a 20th position overall. Advancement to the final round required clearing a height of 2.30m or being among the top 12 performers from the combined qualification rounds of Group A and Group B.

Sarvesh Kushare best performance in men’s high jump was 2.22m. He too fails to progress to next round. Qualifying mark 2.30m or top 12 enter next round.#WorldAthleticsChampionships https://t.co/xNY6CoayVq

— Athletics Federation of India (@afiindia) August 20, 2023

The prior day had also seen Indian athletes struggling, with national record holder Avinash Sable failing to secure a spot in the final round of the men’s 3000m steeplechase. Sable finished seventh in his heat race, yielding a disappointing outcome.

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In the men’s 20km race walk final, three Indian participants faced challenges, while young athlete Shaili Singh fell short of making it to the women’s long jump final, making the opening day a forgettable one for the country’s athletes.

Ajay Kumar Saroj showcased his best effort in the men’s 1500m heats, completing the race in a personal best time of 3 minutes 38.24 seconds. Unfortunately, his performance wasn’t sufficient to secure a spot in the semi-finals. Additionally, none of the three Indian participants in the men’s triple jump — Praveen Chithravel, Eldhose Paul, and Abdulla Aboobacker — managed to progress to the final round.

The upcoming day, Monday, will not feature any Indian athletes in action.