Patiala, March 5 (IANS) Absence of elite women sprinters robbed the sheen off the most glamorous athletics event at the third leg of the Indian Grand Prix (IGP) Athletics event here on Friday, and it was amplified when Assam's Hima Das ran the 100m dash all alone.

Hima, running her first 100-metre race of the season, clocked 11.67 seconds -- and sent a warning to her rivals -- at Patiala's National Institute of Sports.

Hima, 21, the national record holder in the 400m, has switched to shorter sprints as her persistent back injury has restricted her to compete in the one lap race. In the second IGP held last month at Patiala, she competed in 200m and won the race in 23.31 seconds.

Punjab's Amrit Kaur had sent her entry for the 100m. But she didn't start. West Bengal's Himashree Roy and A.T. Daneshwari of Karnataka were other prominent athletes who didn't compete in the third leg on Friday.

In the opening two legs of the IGP, Odisha's Dutee Chand had dominated the women 100m dash. She didn't compete on Friday. She had clocked 11.51 seconds in the first leg. The 24-year-old sprinter had clocked 11.44 seconds in the second leg.

Hima is one of the athletes being considered by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) for the national 4x100m women's relay team. The main target is to achieve an Olympics Games berth. Dutee is the other leading sprinter in the team.

AFI president Adille Sumariwalla said Hima is still on road to recovery. "We will decide in June which event she has to run," he said.

Karnataka's MR Poovamma continued to show her class in the women's 400m. Her winning time on Friday was 54.11 seconds. She had won the first two legs of the IGP. Tamil Nadu's Subha Venkatesan was second with a time of 55.11 seconds while Kerala's Salini VK posted a time of 56.50 seconds to finish third.

In Friday's race, six athletes had entered their names but three stepped on to the track.

Later in the day, Poovamma also won the women 800m race with a time of 2 minutes 08.60 seconds. Urvashi of Haryana was second with 2 minutes 18.06 seconds. Rajasthan's Sukhwant Kaur was third in 2 minutes 18.06 seconds.

In the men's 400m event, Delhi's Amoj Jacob clocked 45.70 seconds to stay atop the field. It was his season's best timing. Sarthak Bhambri of Delhi finished second with a time of 47.11 seconds while Jashanjot Singh of Punjab finished third in 47.59 seconds.

Tamil Nadu's Dharun Ayyasamy continued to tighten his grip over the 400m hurdles. His winning time was 51.04 seconds. Uttar Pradesh's Aftam Alam was second with a time of 51.60 seconds while Punjab's Joravar Singh was third in 55.83 seconds.

Away from the track, Punjab's Tejinderpal Singh Toor was impressive in shot put. His winning throw of 20.09m hinted that he is inching closer to his personal best and a national record of 20.90m, set in 2019. Devinder Singh of Punjab was second with a throw of 18.24m while Sahib Singh of Delhi was third with a distance of 17.52m.

However, it turned out to be a disappointing day for Kerala's Murali Sreeshankar in the jumping pit. The national record holder winning jump of 7.91m fell short of Tokyo Olympic qualification mark of 8.22m. Yugant Shekhar Singh of Uttar Pradesh was second with a jump of 7.68m while Muhammed Anees Yahiya of Kerala grabbed third spot with 7.60m.

Annu Rani of Uttar Pradesh was another top athlete whose aim is to achieve Olympic qualification standard of 64m, but her winning throw on Friday was 61.98m. The Olympic hopeful started with a throw of 56.58m. She recorded a throw of 61.98m in her second attempt, which remained her best of the day.

Sanjana Choudhary of Rajasthan was a distant second with a throw of 52.52m. Kumari Sharmila of Haryana was third with a throw of 50.77m.

In the men's javelin throw, Neeraj Chopra of Haryana improved his national record with a distance of 88.07m. Shivpal Singh of Uttar Pradesh was second with a season best of 81.63m while Sahil Silwal of Haryana was third with a throw of 80.65m.

In 3000m steeplechase, Avinash Sable of Maharashtra won gold with 8:24.40 seconds, Naveen Kumar Dagar of Haryana was second in 8:56.36 sec, and Balkishan, also of Haryana, was third in 9:06.69 sec.

Results:

200m: 1. Muhammed Anas Yahiya (Karnataka) 21.48 seconds; 2. Akshay Prakash Khot (Maharashtra) 22.04; 3. Rahul Ramesh Kadam (Maharashtra) 22.04.
400m: 1. Amoj Jacob (Delhi) 45.70 seconds; 2. Sarthak Bhambri (Delhi) 47.11; 3. Jashanjot Singh (Punjab) 47.59.
800m: 1. Nikesh Dhanraj Rathod (Maharashtra) 1:53.94; 2. Parveen Boora (Haryana) 1:55.03; 3. Arjun Khokhar (Haryana) 1:56.10.
5000m: 1. Kailash Kumar Kumawat (Rajasthan) 20:19.84.
400m Hurdles: Ayyasamy Dharun (Tamil Nadu) 51.04 seconds; 2. Aftab Alam (Uttar Pradesh) 51.60; 3. Joravar Singh (Punjab) 55.83.
3000m Steeplechase: 1. Avinash Sable (Maharashtra) 8:24.40; 2. Naveen Kumar Dagar (Haryana) 8:56.36; 3. Balkishan (Haryana) 9:06.69.
Long Jump: 1. M Sreeshankar (Kerala) 7.91m; 2. Yugant Shekhar Singh (Uttar Pradesh) 7.68; 3. Muhammed Anees Yahiya (Kerala) 7.60.
Triple Jump: 1. Eldhose Paul (Kerala) 15.80m; 2. Kamal Raj Kanagaraj (Tamil Nadu) 15.67; 3. Punit Sharma (Uttarakhand) 14.17.
Shot Put: 1. Tajinderpal Singh Toor (Punjab) 20.09m; 2. Devinder Singh (Punjab) 18.24; 3. Sahib Singh (Delhi) 17.52.
Javelin Throw: 1. Neeraj Chopa (Haryana) 88.07m (New National Record. Old: 88.06m, Neeraj Chopra, Jakarta, 2018); 2. Shivpal Singh (Uttar Pradesh) 81.63; 3. Sahil Silwal (Haryana) 80.65.
Women
100m: 1. Hima Das (Assam) 11.67 seconds.
400m: MR Povamma (Karnataka) 54.11 seconds; 2. Subha Venkatesan (Tamil Nadu) 55.11; 3. VK Salini (Kerala) 56.50.
800m: 1. MR Poovamma (Karnataka) 2:08.60; 2. Urvashi (Haryana) 2:18.06; 3. Sukhwant Kaur (Rajasthan) 2:18.41.
5000m: 1. Parul Chaudhary (Uttar Pradesh) 15:48.49; 2. Ruby Kashyap (Uttar Pradesh) 18:23.79.
3000m Steeplechase: 1. Chinta Yadav (Uttar Pradesh) 10:27.06; 3. Sapna Kishan Singh (Haryana) 13:09.92.
Long Jump: 1. Mareena George (Kerala) 5.97m; 2. Shiwangi Dubey (Uttar Pradesh) 5.76; 3. Sowmiya Murugan (Tamil Nadu) 5.51.
Javelin throw: 1. Annu Rani (Uttar Pradesh) 61.98m; 2. Sanjana Choudhary (Rajasthan) 52.54; 3. Sharmila Kumari (Haryana) 50.77.
Shot put: 1. Shristri Vig (Delhi) 16.06m; 2. Kachnar Chaudhary (Rajasthan) 14.41; 3. Tunlai Sameswar Narzary (Assam) 14.07

--IANS nns/qma