A Div 400m (Boys): Zubin Muncherji of ACJC retains title in meet record of 48.69 seconds

Story by Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports. Photos by Clara Yuan/Red Sports and Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports

ACJC’s Zubin Muncherji (#239) set a new boys’ A Division 400m record with a timing of 48.69 seconds. He was the only athlete in the field to finish under 50 seconds. (Photo 1 © Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports)

Choa Chu Kang Stadium, Friday, April 11, 2014 — Zubin Percy Muncherji of Anglo-Chinese Junior College (ACJC) set a new meet record and personal best in the boys’ A Division 400m when he won the title with a timing of 48.69 seconds at the 55th National Inter-School Track & Field Championships.

Calvin Quek of Raffles Institution (RI) clinched the silver medal with a timing of 51.07 seconds, while Koo Kai Siang of National Junior College finished third in 51.29 seconds.

Zubin’s run bettered the A Division electronically-timed mark of 48.81s set by Ng Chin Hui, then of RI, in 2012. It also finally erased the hand-timed record of 48.8s set by Woodsville Secondary alumnus Sandy Hong Fulong in 1984, and equaled by Li Fushun four years later.

Zubin’s previous PB was 48.74s set in March’s Singapore Junior meet. He has now gone under 49 seconds five times.

This is Zubin’s third gold medal at the National Schools Championships, having won the 400m gold last year and in 2011. “It feels great. I was a little bit tired because the nationals have been quite hectic. So today, honestly, I just came here to do my best to defend my title. I knew that if I stuck to my pace, then the timing would come,” commented Zubin, who represented Singapore in this event as well as the 4x400m relay at last year’s South-east Asian Games in Myanmar.

While Kai Siang’s third-placed finish garnered him his first individual medal ever at the Schools’ meet, Calvin picked up his 10th of a possible 12 since competing in 2009, of which, six are silver.

A Div 400m (Boys) Results
1st Zubin Percy Muncherji (#239, Anglo-Chinese Junior College) – 48.69s
2nd Quek Jun Jie Calvin (#147, Raffles Institution) – 51.07s
3rd Koo Kai Siang (#107, National Junior College) – 51.29s
4th Wong Shern Yang Jonathan [#79, Anglo-Chinese School (Independent)] – 52.27s
5th Mitchell Teh Yee Cher [#66, Anglo-Chinese School (Independent)] – 52.46s
6th Damien Kee Wei Hao (#128, Raffles Institution) – 52.71s
7th Kam Russell I-Zheng (#171, St. Andrew’s Junior College) – 53.48s
8th Koh Yue En (#136, Raffles Institution) – 53.78s

Video © SAA. Used with permission.

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