By Paritosh Pramanik
SEPT 13, 2024
A FALSE start by compatriot Hariharan in the final did disturb Nayan Sarde a bit but the lanky Nagpur athlete put that distraction behind as he went on to clinch his maiden silver medal in just his second international event.
Nayan, son of Jalna Police Head Constable Pradip Sarde, did the city and Maharashtra proud after he won a silver medal in 110 metres hurdles in the South Asian Junior Athletics Championship at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, on Thursday evening.
Sarde, representing India, claimed the silver medal with a timing of 14.14 seconds.
It was a close battle where the Krida Prabodhini Nagpur lad missed the yellow metal by a whisker.
WP Sandun Koshala of Sri Lanka claimed the gold medal in 14.06 secs.
Another Sri Lankan E Vishwa Tharuka took the bronze crossing the finish line in 14.27s.
“My team-mate Hariharan was disqualified after a false start. That distracted me and I could not start as I wanted, when the final re-started. But I am happy to win silver in my second international event,” a satisfied Sarde shared his views with ‘The Hitavada’ after his medal winning performance, from Chennai.
“It was really humid which hampered my performance. But I am glad that I managed to finish on the podium. This medal is a confidence booster,” added Sarde son of Sangita a housemaker, who hails from Buldhana district of Vidarbha.
Nayan thus became the first athlete from Nagpur to clinch a medal at the South Asian Junior Athletics Championship.
Nayan said after this medal he now aims to qualify for World University Games.
“Now I will start preparing for the prestigious World University Games which will be held next year,” added Sarde who trains under Samsher Khan at Krida Prabodhini.
The sprinter said that he now wants to improve his performance technically.
“My physical training is up to the mark. But now I want to better myself technically. I will sit with my coach and will try to improve myself technically,” stated Sarde.
“My first international event at Lima in Peru was really helpful. At this SAAF meet, I was determined not to commit same mistakes which I did at Peru,” said Sarde.
The Indian contingent is represented by 55 athletes including 27 girls.
Athletes from Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Pakistan are participating in the SAAF competition.
Nayan recently represented India in the 110m hurdles at the World Junior Championships held in Lima, Peru. Despite a fast start in Lima, he was unable to clear the first round hurdle. But at Chennai, Nayan was determined to finish at the podium and gave a tough competition to his closest Sri Lankan rivals.
He gave the credit of his success to his parents and coach Samsher Khan.
Nagpur District Athletics Association President Gurudev Nagrale, Secretary and others congratulated Nayan for his remarkable feat.
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