Vishal TK and Rajesh Ramesh were easy winners in the first round of men’s 400m heat in the morning session on Saturday.
A thrilling showdown between national record holder Vishal TK and Rajesh Ramesh is expected on Sunday in the men’s 400m final at the 65th National Inter State Senior Athletics Championships. The five-day competition will conclude Sunday at Bhubaneswar’s Kalinga Stadium in Odisha. Both Vishal and Rajesh have been enjoying a good season and are expected to give their best in the final.
In the preliminary 400m first round here in Bhubaneswar on Saturday, Vishal TK representing Tamil Nadu led from the front clocking 45.95 seconds in heat 1. It was the fastest in the heats and better than the AFI qualification criteria of 45.97 seconds for the continental games starting September 19 in Japan.
Manu TS was the second runner in the heats to have bettered the Asian Games qualification time. He came first in heat four with a time of 45.96 seconds.
Rajesh Ramesh (Tamil Nadu) finished first in heat second with a time of 46.83 secs.
National junior record holder, Jay Kumar of Uttar Pradesh dominated heat three with a time of 46.50 secs.
Last month in Ranchi, Vishal edged past Rajesh in the final to post 44.98 seconds, a national record and first runner to clock a sub 45 seconds.
EOM
