Jaisha in limelight after bagging 5000m bronze

Doha, Dec 11: The unheralded O P Jaisha emerged as India's new long distance queen as she clinched a bronze medal

alongwith experienced discus thrower Krishna Punia in the showpiece athletics event of the Asian Games here on Monday. The 23-year-old Jaisha came to spotlight by winning the bronze in women's 5000m run with a personal best timing of 15:41.91 on a day which saw the Indian win two bronze medals at the grand Khalifa Stadium.

After Jaisha had done her bit on the track, the 29-year-old Krishna Punia added another medal to India's kitty by grabbing bronze in the women's discus throw event with a personal best throw of 61.53 m, finishing behind China's Aimin Song and Ma Xuejun.

With the addition of two more bronze, India's medal count in athletics has gone up to four silver and three bronze medals. Jaisha, a gold-medal winner in the 2006 SAF games in Colombo, slightly miscalculated her final burst as she forged ahead from the leading pack but lost steam towards the finish tape.

"For the last 300m I tried to accelerate but I could not make it. I am happy with the bronze medal. I will try to improve more in future meets", Jaisha said.

China's Fei Xue pipped her at the post to pocket the gold medal with a timing of 15:40.12 while Japan's Kayo Sugihara took home the silver with an effort of 15:40.87.

Star athlete Anju Bobby George, who won a silver medal in the women's long jump event yesterday, skipped the triple jump event owing to fever and a back strain.

In the men's shot put event, India's Navpreet Singh finished fourth by hurling the iron ball to a distance of 18.99 m, achieving his best throw in his sixth and last attempt.

Another Indian in the fray, Vikas Gowda, finished a disappointing seventh with a rather poor effort of 18.09 m. Four of his throws were foul and the best throw was recorded in his third attempt.

Saudi Arabia's Sultan Abdulmajeed al Hebshi claimed the gold with a personal best throw of 20.42 while Qatar's Khaled Habash al Suwaidi (20.05) and Taipei's Ming Chang (19.45) took the silver and bronze medals respectively. Bureau Report