MU emerges athletics champs fourth time in a row

Mangalore University bagged the overall championship cup at the 80th five-day All India Inter-University Athletics Championship which ended in Moodbidri on Monday.

The varsity topped the list of universities with 170 points.

University Of Madras, which bagged 98.5 points, emerged as the overall runner-up and Mahatma Gandhi University-Kottayam with 80 points was ranked third among the universities. Incidentally, Mangalore University has won the overall championship for the fourth time in a row.

Mangalore University also won the championship in women’s (69 points) and in men’s (101 points) categories.

University of Madras, with 56.5 points, was placed second and Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak, was placed third in the men’s category.

In the women’s category, M G University-Kottayam, with 47 points, and University of Madras, with 42 points, were ranked second and third respectively.

Y Jyothi Acharya from Nagarjun University (100m Hurdles-13.03sec), who had collected 1,146 points, was adjudged as the Best Athlete in women’s category.

Jay Shah Pradeep of Mangalore University, who had created a new meet record in Triple Jump (16.53m), had collected the highest ever points of 1,115 and was adjudged as Best Athlete in men’s catogery.

Nine athletes - Prathap Narendra (10,000m Run), Juned K T (20km Race Walk Men), A Sherin (Long Jump Women, 6.32m), Sonal Sukhwal (20km Race walk Women), Komal Jagadale (3,000m Steeplechase Women), Narendre Prathap Singh (5,000m Run Men ), Jyothi Y (100m Hurdles Men), Hermilan Bains (1,500m Run) and Pradeep Jay Shah (Triple Jump Men), who created new meet records, were felicitated and presented with a cash reward of Rs 25,000 each.

For the first time in history of Inter-University Athletics Championship, coach Vijendra Singh, who had groomed highest number of athletes winning gold medals, was felicitated and presented with a cash reward of Rs 25,000.

Six universities that had won the championship in the past - Punjab University-Patiala ( 8 times), M G University - Kottayam (7 times), Guru Nanak University - Amritsar (5 times), Maharishi Dayanand University - Rohtak (2 times) and Mangalore University (4 times) were felicitated on the occasion.

Former ministers K Abhaychandra Jain and Amarnath Shetty, AEF Chairman Dr M Mohan Alva, RGUHS Organising Secretary Dr B Vasanth Shetty among others were also present.