The athletic events of the Kerala Olympic Games failed to generate any spark at the University Stadium here on Saturday as several top athletes stayed away from the meet.
Quality performance was at a premium despite Thiruvananthapuram being on top with three gold medals at the end of the first day’s competition.
The hosts continued to dominate swimming as they won seven gold medals on day one. Liana Fatima Umar (Kasaragod) won the double and hit the headlines. Liana finished first in the women’s 100m freestyle (1:05.61) and 200m butterfly stroke (2:44.30) to complete her double.
Thiruvananthapuram won the 4x200m freestyle relay in both the sections while Ernakulam won the 4x50m freestyle relay.
Host wrestlers TS Aashiq (60kg) and Anand VS Thampi (87kg) won gold medals in Greco-Roman events. YM Yasin (Ernakulam) won the first gold medal in 67kg while VK Abdul Malik (Ernakulam) won the gold in 77kg.
In football, Kozhikode made one final appearance with Kasaragod. In the semi-final, Kasaragod beat Pathanamthitta 2-0 while Kozhikode came back from behind to beat Malappuram 2-1.
In women’s basketball, Thiruvananthapuram will take on Thrissur in the final. In the semi-finals, Thrissur beat Palakkad 57-52 while Thiruvananthapuram beat Kottayam 73-45.
Results (Athletics only winners): Men: 100m: KP Ashwin (TVM) (10.48); 400m: Jerin Johnny (KTM) (48.46); 1500 meters: Benjamin Babu (KTM) (4:35.0); 10,000 m: AP Akshay (PKD) (37:35.06); 110m Hurdles: Tulsi Muhammad (Koz) (15.87); Long Jump: Mohammad Asif (TVM) (7.30m); discus throw: CB Bimal (KNR) (38.62m); hammer throw: Vignesh (PKD) (39.09m); Spear: Arun Baby (EKM) (67.93m).
Female: 100m: AP Shielda (Alp) (11.63m); 400m: Ansa Babu (TVM) (58.54); 1500 meters: KP Akshay (Tsr) (5:16.83); 10,000 m: A. Aswani (KLM) (55:26.60); 100m Hurdles: R. Srilakshmi (Alpa) (15.31); Long Jump: Zarina John (KNR) (8.30 m); hammer throw: Ksenia Mariam Benny (46.03m).
Football (Semifinals): Kasaragod 2 (Sajith 9, Abubakar Afsal 83) bt Pathanamthitta 0; Kozhikode 2 (Jaseel 13, Nandu Krishnan 65) BT Malappuram 1 (MD Ansar 3).
Basketball (Women): Semifinals: Thrissur 57 (Angela Sunny 16) BT Palakkad 52 (VJ Jayalakshmi 17, Chippy Mathew 12); Thiruvananthapuram 73 (Kavitha Jose 24, Minnu Maria 16, Gina Scaria 14) bt Kottayam 45 (Olivia T. Shaibu 11).