ATHLETICS | Murli Gavit wins men’s 5000m in a race that featured an odd finish

P. David of Tamil Nadu, winner of the men’s long jump, in action during the 62nd National Open Athletics Championships 2023, at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, in Bengaluru on October 13, 2023.
| Photo Credit: K. MURALI KUMAR

The men’s 5,000m event at the 62nd National Open athletics championships here on Friday witnessed an odd finish. Six runners in the leader group entered the home stretch together, but as the finish line approached, none of them seemed to make a concentrated effort to break away and get the win. 

The run was eventually won by Murli Gavit (14:08.49s), followed by Gaurav Mathur (14:08.54s) and Sachelal Patel (14:08.56s).

Only 0.25s separated Gavit from sixth-placed Shadab Pathan, which made the half-hearted final effort all the more curious. There were also six runners who did not finish the run, and ten others who did not start. 

This was in direct contrast to the women’s 5,000m, where Ankita (Railways), Seema (Himachal Pradesh) and Drastiben Chaudhri (Gujarat) pulled out all the stops in search of glory. It took a terrific late surge from Ankita to help grab the gold medal.  

Mallala Anusha of Andhra Pradesh, winner of the women’s triple jump, in action, during the 62nd National Open Athletics Championships 2023, at Sree Kanteerava Stadium, in Bengaluru on October 13, 2023.
| Photo Credit:
K. MURALI KUMAR

Tamil Nadu’s P. David won the men’s long jump with a best effort of 7.78m. The 21-year-old has continued his good run, having won gold at the Federation Cup gold and silver at the Indian Grand Prix earlier this year.

The results: Winners: Men: 5,000m: Murli Gavit (Gujarat), 14:08.49s, 4x400m relay: Services Sports Control Board (SSCB), 3:08.08s, Long jump: P. David (Tamil Nadu), 7.78m, High jump: Bharathi Viswanathan (SSCB), 2.18m, Hammer throw: Taranveer Bains (SSCB), 66.41m, Shot put: Sahib Singh (ONGC), 18.96m.

Women: 5,000m: Ankita (Railways), 16:10.05s, 4x400m relay: Railways, 3:37.82s, Triple jump: Mallala Anusha (Andhra Pradesh), 13.40m, Pole vault: Pavithra Venkatesh (Railways), 4.05m, Discus throw: Nidhi (Railways), 52.86m.