Indian athletes are shining at the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, being held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. One rising star among them is Purnima Hembram who clinched the gold medal in the pentathlon event on Monday (Sept 18).
https://twitter.com/PREMKUMARSWAIN/status/910018530862555136
👏👏👏 Purnima Hembram is a rising star among Indian athletes from Odisha, which has in recent years has turned out a string of them... https://t.co/kSV1UBpAhp
— Baijayant Jay Panda (@PandaJay) September 19, 2017
The 24-year-old Odisha athlete is the Asian champion, who brought home bronze medals in 2015 and earlier this year too.
In the Asian Junior Championship 2012, she had scored a total of 4062 points and and ranked among the top 10-athletes along with Thailand’s Winatho Wrtaf Wassana (3915 points) and Sunisa Khotseemueang (3093 points), who came 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Fantastic job Purnima Hembram, you've won the #Ashgabat2017 Women's Pentathlon gold medal for #India! pic.twitter.com/rTa1hJpE2J
— Ashgabat 2017 (@Ashgabat_2017) September 18, 2017
Congratulations Purnima Hembram on winning gold in the Pentathlon event at @Ashgabat_2017. We’re proud of you.
— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) September 18, 2017
Meanwhile, in the women’s 3000m race, Sanjivani Jadhav settled for a silver medal. Neena Varakil clinched bronze in the women’s long jump.
On the other hand, Tajinderpal Singh Toor added another silver for India in men’s shotput.
Tajinder Pal Singh Toor had a stunning series of throws over 18.49, 19.58, 19.77, 19.11, a foul and 19.61. #AAC2017 pic.twitter.com/MWwbe6Uydv
— G Rajaraman (@g_rajaraman) July 7, 2017
👏👏👏 Purnima Hembram is a rising star among Indian athletes from Odisha, which has in recent years has turned out a string of them... https://t.co/kSV1UBpAhp
— Baijayant Jay Panda (@PandaJay) September 19, 2017
Sanjivani, who bagged the silver in the 3000m race, clocked 9:26.34. She finished behind Alia Mohammed from the United Arab Emirates. The 21-year-old is a well-known face in the world of athletics. She had earlier taken home the silver medal in the World University Games 2017 (10000m) and also won a bronze medal in the Asian championships (5000m) earlier this year in Bhubaneshwar.
After 4 events, HEMBRAM Purnima is leading #Pentathlon event by 3279 points at #Ashgabat pic.twitter.com/TLAEQHI5Bq
— Sports Desk (@tanmoy_sports) September 18, 2017
In the women’s long jump event, Neena finished third at 6.04m. She is the long jump Asian championships silver medallist. She had also won the Jiaxing leg of the Asian Grand Prix this year.
To sum up the collection of medals, India now stands at the 11th spot. Host Turkmenistan ranks one step up with 26 gold, 21 silver, and 12 bronze.
Proud of you, Purnima!
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