Dagmil cops Asian GP long jump gold

MANILA, Philippines - Henry Dagmil claimed the gold medal in a pulsating final jump in the long jump event of the Asian Grand Prix in Chennai, India last Wednesday.

Dagmil, a 2008 Beijing Olympics campaigner, took the gold with a leap of 7.69 meters, besting China’s Yu Zhengwei, who leaped 7.63 meters. Hari Krishna of India came in third with a jump of 7.54 meters.

Dagmil actually committed a foul on his first and fourth tries after a leap of 7.55 meters in between before recording a 7.69 in his fifth attempt.

Dagmil’s feat, however, was way off the 8.48-meter Asian record by Mohamed Al-Khuwailidi of Saudi Arabia, who made it in Sotteville in 2006.

Despite winning the gold in the 100-meter dash in the recent National Open, the 28-year-old Dagmil struggled in his favorite event, committing a foul in all his jumps.

Dagmil also came up short in the two previous Asian Grand Prix legs despite 7.67-meter effort in Pune and a 7.77-meter jump in Bangalore, which was good for fourth place.

Sheena Atilano won a bronze medal each in the two previous legs of the Asian Grand Prix but bowed out in the 100-meter hurdles won by Anasstasiya Supronova of Kazakhstan.

In the second leg in Bangalore, Atilano submitted a clocking of 13.98 seconds to take the bronze, an improvement from her 14.03 seconds time in Pune during the first leg.