The 5th Indian Open Jumps kicked off thrillingly in Bengaluru, where Abdullah Abubakar of the Air Force dazzled with a gold-winning triple jump of 16.83 meters. Held at the Anju Bobby George Foundation Campus on Saturday, the competition set the tone for the jumping season with fierce contests and record-chasing efforts.
Abubakar built momentum progressively: 16.05m on the first jump, 16.57m next, and a decisive 16.83m on the third to seal victory. He skipped the final attempts, confident in his lead. Tamil Nadu’s Praveen Chitravels earned silver at 16.78m, highlighting the razor-thin margins at the top.
In men’s high jump, Maharashtra’s Sarvesh Anil Kushare, an Army internationalist, cleared 2.16m for gold after three attempts, narrowly missing 2.19m. Pole vault delivered drama as Madhya Pradesh duo Dev Meena and Kuldeep Kumar both hit 5.25m, with Meena’s earlier clearance earning him the gold and preserving his national record proximity from last year.
Junior categories buzzed with potential. Rajasthan’s Basant topped U20 high jump at 2.14m, while Kerala’s Devak Bhushan led U18 with 2.03m. Karnataka’s Nitya Shri V dominated women’s U20 triple jump with 12m, and Uttar Pradesh’s Tanu Yadav soared to 3.55m in pole vault U20.
Full Day 1 leaderboard:
– Men’s High Jump: Sarvesh Anil Kushare (Mah) 2.16m | Aditya Raghuvanshi (MP) 2.13m | Swadhin Kumar Majhi (Odi) 2.13m
– Men’s HJ U20: Basant (Raj) 2.14m | Shri Vatsan N (TN) 2.09m | Afroze Ahmad (Jha) 1.99m
– Men’s HJ U18: Devak Bhushan (Ker) 2.03m | Zubin Goheen (JSW) 1.95m | Virendra Ranaware (Mah) 1.85m
– Men’s Triple Jump: Abdulla Abubakar (AF) 16.83m | Praveen Chitravels (TN) 16.78m | Geli Venister (TN) 16.48m
– Men’s TJ U20: Dhanush Raj M (Ker) 15.08m | Daksh Bishnoi (Pun) 14.98m | Karthikeyan G (TN) 14.85m
– Men’s Pole Vault: Dev Meena (MP) 5.25m | Kuldeep Kumar (MP) 5.25m | M Gautam (TN) 5.10m
– Women’s TJ U20: Nitya Shri V (Kar) 12.00m | Parmar Hemanshiben (Guj) 11.14m
– Women’s PV U20: Tanu Yadav (UP) 3.55m | Priyadharsini Vira (TN) 3.30m | Chuki Birda (Raj) 3.20m
This opener promises more fireworks, as athletes gear up to challenge national benchmarks and eye international glory.