Fed Cup Athletics: Sachin, Pranav shine

THE 28th National Federation Senior Athletic Championship kicked off in Kochi with two meet records and a handful of personal best performances.

- MANISHA VCS @Kochi

Army's long-distance runner Sawan Barwal touched the finish line in 28:57:13 seconds in men's 10,000m, breaching the 18-year-old meet record of 28:57:90 set by Surender Singh in 2007. "I could have done better in the race, but there was no-one to challenge me," he said, as the runner-up, Abhishek Pal of Railways, finished 36s behind.

Both attained the qualifying standards for the Asian Championship to be held in Gumi, South Korea.

Drama unfolded in the 100m men's race where Pranav Pramod of Railways clinched gold with a personal best of 10.27s while national record holder Gurindervir Singh of Punjab finished last with a timing of 11.21s. Manikanta Hoblidar of Karnataka, after clocking meet record of 10.25s in the heats, finished third (10.35s).