Tura (Meghalaya), Jan 16: The second day of the 5th Meghalaya Games has been an exciting one here at the Pa Togan Nengminza Sangma Athletic Stadium on the first day of the track and field events in which Renaldi Dhar of West Jaintia Hills and Angelina Jackson of Shillong, East Khasi Hills, literally set the tracks on fire with their outstanding performance and earning the tag of Meghalaya’s fastest athletes in the men and women category of the 100 meters sprint.
It was also a day to witness a thrilling performance at the swimming event in Rongkhon swimming pool, where Banpynshngain Syngwan swan away with as many as four gold medals in different categories of swimming, including the 100 meters freestyle.
At the athletics stadium, the crowds swelled to witness the finals of the Men’s 100 meters and loud cheers filled the air when the race took off. Sprinter Renaldi Dhar of West Jaintia Hills (WJH) had to shake off a tight challenge from Garo Hills’ very own Gracewin Ch Marak representing Ampati South West Garo Hills. Gracewin’s performance and bagging the silver medal was a pleasant surprise for the fans of Garo Hills. Renaldi defeated Gracewin Ch Marak of South West Garo Hills by 200ths of a second. The bronze went to Ri Bhoi’s Pilo Ronghang.
The women’s category of the 100 meters sprint once again displayed high quality sprinting by the young athletes and well-known sprinter Angelina Jackson representing Shillong easily cruised past the finish line defeating her nearest opponent Saviinity Jyndiang of Nongstoin with comfortable margin of more than half a second.
Angelina clocked 13.6 followed by Savinity Jyndiang with a time of 14.2. The fight for silver however was intense with Ibaiahun Kurbah also clocking in at 14.2 to take the bronze.
There was a total of 6 athletic events on the first day of the athletic competition. The gold in the men’s competition for the 1500 metre dash, went to Ribhoi’s Skhemlang Suba who rode to victory with a timing of 4:04:7. WJH’s Dabit Dkhar came second with a timing of 4:08:9, while Nongstoin’s Banjoplang Wanniang took the bronze in a timing of 4:09:0.
In the 1500 meter run for women, Shillong’s Glorify Kurbah beat 5 other competitors with a timing of 5:04:1s. The silver and bronze were clinched by Southwest Khasi Hills athletes, Daphlin Wahlang (silver) clocking 5:13:5s and Balasiewdor Pathaw with a timing of 5:20:3.
Men’s High Jump finals saw Primus Ronghi of Ri Bhoi soar into the air to snatch gold with a jump of 1.90 meters, while Williamnagar’s Pringchang N Sangma walked off with silver having jumped 1.85 meters. Bronze went to Simeon Marak of North Garo Hills, who also cleared 1.85 meters.
In the women’s High Jump competition, Ri Bhoi dominated proceedings taking both the gold and silver medals.Gold was won by Rinalgi Ingti (1.55 M) with Andrisha Klien taking silver (1.45M). Williamnagar’s Roshni Ch Marak won bronze with a jump of 1.35 meter. Ri Bhoi dominated the field in other events winning 3 golds, a silver and a bronze. They were followed by Shillong which took home 2 golds. The other gold medal was won by WJH.
Swimming:
East Khasi Hills dominated the Day-1 swimming competition of the fifth edition of Meghalaya Games 2024 held at Rongkhon Swimming Pool, Tura.
With 25 medals won on the first day, East Khasi Hills leads the medal tally for Swimming. The men and women swimmers from East Khasi Hills secured 9 golds, 6 silvers, and 10 bronze medals. In second place is South West Khasi Hills with 4 medals, including one gold and three silvers.
Day-1 categories included Men’s Freestyle 100m, Women’s Freestyle 100m, Men’s Breaststroke 100m, Women’s Breaststroke 100m, Backstroke 100m for both Men and Women, Freestyle relay for both Men and Women, and lastly, the Mix Freestyle Relay.
Shooting :
The shooting event of the 5th Meghalaya Games began at the 2nd Battalion, Goeragre Tura, hosting 53 participants from 12 districts of the state on Tuesday.
The Shooting event comprised 13 categories, including Short Range: 10 meters Air Rifle (Men Individual, Women Individual), 10 meters Air Pistol (Men and Women Individual). In the Long Range category, events included Men 25 meters Standard Pistol (Men Individual), 25 meters Sports Pistol (Women Individual), 50 meters Men Pistol, 50 meters Rifle Prone, 50 meters Open Sight (Open to all), and 10 meters Mixed Team.
The first and second position will compete for the Gold and Silver, while the third and fourth will vie for the Bronze. Competition for all the categories commenced on Tuesday.
