TN’s Praveen Chithravel bags gold in triple jump

DEHRADUN: Tamil Nadu’s Praveen Chithravel clinched the gold medal in the men’s triple jump event at the National Games on Tuesday. He registered the best jump of 16.50m and dominated the event.

Muhammed Salahuddin secured second spot with the best jump of 16.01m. The Tamil Nadu-born athlete bagged the silver medal in the competition. Praveen and Salahuddin were the only two athletes to breach the 16m mark in the event at the 38th edition of the National Games.

Meanwhile, Kerala’s Mohammed Muhassin won the bronze medal with the best jump of 15.57m. Sebastian VS from Kerala finished fourth in the men’s triple jump with a jump of 15.48m. Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) athlete Vimal Mukesh secured the fifth rank with the best jump of 15.38m. Vivek Gupta from Maharashtra finished sixth in the men’s triple jump final with 15.15m, while SSCB’s Karthik Unnikrishnan recorded a best jump of 15.12m to finish seventh in the event. Punjab’s Rahul finished last in the competition with a jump of 14.61m. Eight athletes competed in the final, including two from TN, Kerala and the Services Sports Control Board. Meanwhile, one each from Maharashtra and Punjab represented the state.

Men’s triple jump: Praveen Chithravel (Tamil Nadu) - 16.50m; Mohammed Salahuddin (Tamil Nadu) - 16.01m; Mohammed Muhassin (Kerala) - 15.57m