Om Prakash shatters shot put national record

Om Prakash Karhana on Sunday shattered Shakti Singh's 12-year-old national record in shot put on his way to achieving London Olympics qualification 'A' standard in a meet at Szombathely, Hungary.

Om Prakash, who has already crossed the London Games 'B' standard, tossed the iron ball to 20.69m in the Su-Di-Ka Kupa meet. His effort eclipsed the previous national record of 20.42m held by Shakti Singh since 2000, one of the longest national records in Indian athletics.

The ONGC employee has been training at the IAAF High Performance Centre at the Hungarian town of Szombathely.

His Sunday's efforts bettered London Olympic Games 'A' standard of 20.50m, besides placing him on ninth spot in the current World rankings.

Om Prakash, currently training under Anil Kumar, recalled with gratitude his short stints under Shakti Singh long ago.

"The weather suddenly plunged below 15 degree Celsius from the previous day's 33 degree and that affected me and other throwers heavily in returning our best. There was a gusty wind followed by heavy rain that prevented further ambitions in this regard," Om Prakash said.

His series read as 20.09, 20.60, Foul, 20.40, 20.63, 20.69. It meant he improved the national record at least three times during his throw.

It was only a second competition for the Indian this season after he touched 19.86 here on April 14.

Om Prakash is planning to take part in one of the Diamond League meets in July in Europe before the London Olympics.