SPO-KHELO ATHLETICS

BespectacledBalakumar Nithin of

Tamil Nadu set the Khelo track alight here with a personal

best-equalling 100m dash in the boys Under-21 category on

Friday.

Nithin clocked 10.76 seconds, the same as when he took

bronze at the All-India Inter-Universities Championship in

Moodbidri and raised his right arm aloft, aware that he had

sealed what seemed like an improbable win after 70m.

A sluggish start saw him trailing badly but the

Chennai-based 19-year-old was eventually a comfortable winner,

a media release said.

The line-up at the start was formidable since it

included national junior champion Ajith Kumar and silver

medallist M. Karthikeyan, Nithin's state-mates, and bronze

medallist Nevil Francis Fernandez of Kerala.

None of them was among the medals tonight.

Four other runners dipped in under 11 seconds in what

was a fast race.

Karnatakas Prajwal Mandana lost the lead and earned

silver, one-tenth of a second behind Nithin.

The Mohammed Riaz-trained sprinter drew satisfaction

from the victory. His time here was faster than Ajith Kumars

winning time of 10.84 seconds in the National meet in Ranchi.

The bustling Nisar Ahmed, who was persuaded by his

coach Sunita Rai to compete here despite being in off-season

training, won the Under-17 sprint in a slowish 10.96.

Karnatakas A. T. Daneshwari beat Maddali Supriya yet

again for the title of the fastest girl Under-21 athlete here.

Maharashtra's Sudeshna Shivankar claimed gold in 12.48

seconds in the girls Under-17 100m final on a night that saw

the four sprint golds head to different states.