Sudha wins steeplechase gold

The Uttar Pradesh athlete won the race in 9 minute 59.47 seconds to grab the first gold of the day for India in front of a packed crowd at the Kalinga Stadium.

Sudha, who had also won a silver each in the 2009, 2011 and 2013 editions, was a gold medal contender in the absence of compatriot Lalita Babar, who skipped the event after her recent marriage, and Bahrain’s world and Asian record holder Ruth Jebet. 

The 31-year-old Sudha led from the very beginning, and after running together for a while along with the other five competitors, broke away around the halfway mark and left all her rivals way behind to win the gold. She took a lap of honour after her win.

It was a creditable sub-10 minute win for Sudha who has been away from training for several months after she suffered from swine flu on her return from the Rio Olympic Games last year. North Korea’s 18-yearold Hyo Gyong was a distant second in 10:13.94 while Japan’s Nana Sato took the bronze in 10:18.11. 

“I am very happy to win this gold. This is my top level competition after Rio Olympics. I was down with swine flu and I was down for five-six months and after that I started training slowly and steadily. So, this win is special. It is a slow timing but the conditions are not that good,” she said after her win.