Indian women's team scripts history with maiden medal

Muscat: The race walking trio of Bhawna Jat, Ravina and Munita Prajapati scripted history by winning the country's maiden women's 20km team medal, a bronze, at the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships here on Friday.

China and Greece won the gold and silver respectively.

Ravina produced the best finish by an Indian in the women's 20km event at 14th spot with a time of one hour 40 minutes 22 seconds.

The experienced Bhawna Jat, a Tokyo Olympian, was 21st with a time of 1:43:08 and 20-year-old Munita Prajapati finished 26th in 1:45:03.

The team medals are decided after taking into account the overall performance of the competing athletes of a country.

"The hard work that we put in at the national camp has paid off," Jat said after the historic medal.

This was the Indian women's team's first medal in the 61-year history of the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships.

The men's team had already won a medal -- also a bronze -- in 2012. Earlier in the day, Amit Khatri led the field at the final kilometer but was disqualified after receiving his fourth red card in the U-20 men's 10km event.

Khatri was leading the field when he was disqualified but he would not have won the gold even if he had crossed the finish line first as he was handed a 60-minute penalty after his third red card.

He would certainly have been in the top 10 had he not received his fourth red card -- which resulted in his disqualification.

The 18-year-old Khatri, who had won a silver in the 10000m race walk event at the World Athletics U-20 Championships in Nairobi six months ago, was at 11th position at the halfway mark but he gradually pulled himself up to lead the pack after the 9km mark. Lying third behind two Chinese walkers at the start of the final kilometer, Khatri stepped up the pace and shot into the lead. However, he also picked up three red cards in addition to the one shown to him earlier, according to Athletics Federation of India.