This was a historic 1-2 finish for India.
In the men’s triple jump final at the Commonwealth Games, India’s Eldhose Paul and Abdulla Aboobacker won gold and silver, respectively.
This marked India’s first ever 1-2 finish in Commonwealth Games athletics.
Kerala’s Eldhose Paul became the first athlete to clear 17 metres in the final when he jumped 17.03m in his third attempt.
It was a personal best and it was enough to earn him the gold medal.
Paul’s training partner Abdulla Aboobacker, who is also from Kerala, took five attempts to reach his best jump of 17.02m, winning him silver.
This was a historic 1-2 finish for India.
Meanwhile, Bermuda’s Jah-Nhai Perinchief took home the bronze after jumping 16.92m.
It could have been a clean sweep for India, but Praveen Chithravel just missed out on bronze, having jumped 16.89m.
Paul had reached the final of the World Championships in Eugene, Oregan, USA, where he finished with a jump of 16.79m.
Just five Commonwealth triple jumpers qualified for the Worlds, and Paul was the only one to make the final.
With just four days to go for the World Athletics Championships in the USA, Paul was still running around in New Delhi to complete his visa formalities.
When Paul first got the date for his visa interview, he was at Almaty, Kazakhstan, competing in the Qosanov meet in a last-minute bid to qualify for the Worlds through the rankings route.
He was successful, grabbing the last berth in the World Athletics’ ‘Road to Oregon rankings’ just before the qualification doors closed.
In previous editions of the Commonwealth Games, India had won four triple jump medals but this is the first time two athletes from the country have got podium finishes.
Mohinder Singh Gill won a bronze and a silver in the 1970 and 1974 editions while Renjith Maheswary and Arpinder Singh finished third in the 2010 and 2014 editions.
Following the historic 1-2 finish, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the two triple jumpers.
Congratulating Eldhose Paul, he tweeted:
“Today’s Triple Jump event is historic. Our athletes have done excellently.”
“Congratulations to the superbly talented Eldhose Paul who has won a Gold medal and backed up his good performance in previous international competitions. His dedication is laudable.”
In a separate message, the PM said:
“Delighted that Abdulla Aboobacker has won a Silver in the Triple Jump event in Birmingham.
“The medal is the result of a lot of hardwork and remarkable commitment. All the best to him for his future endeavours.”
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