New National Records Set
At the National Inter-State Athletics Championships held at the Kalinga Stadium, several athletes achieved significant milestones, including securing qualification for the upcoming Asian Games. Among them, Anushka Yadav, a hammer thrower, and pole vaulter Dev Meena both established new national records in their respective events. Hurdler Jyothi Yarraji also qualified for the Asian Games following a return from injury.
Anushka Yadav, an 18-year-old from Baghpat, broke a nine-year-old national record in the hammer throw. She initially surpassed the previous mark with a throw of 65.64m on her second attempt. She further improved this in her final throw, achieving 67.02m, which was more than five metres better than her previous personal best of 62.89m. This performance secured her spot for the Asian Games.
Yadav shared that she had sustained a knee injury in March while assisting her father with agricultural equipment. Despite this setback, she made a recovery to compete at the championships. Dev Meena, competing in the pole vault, also set a new national record with a mark of 5.46m, surpassing the previous record of 5.45m. He managed to achieve this despite the humid weather conditions, by maintaining hydration.
Jyothi Yarraji’s Comeback and Gulveer Singh’s Performance
Jyothi Yarraji made a notable return from injury, timing 13.14 in the women’s 100m hurdles heats to qualify for the Asian Games. She then went on to win the final with a time of 12.99. Yarraji expressed her determination, noting that she had been injured on the same day last year and was resolved not to give up.
In the men’s 5000m race, national record holder Gulveer Singh competed after returning from his training base in the USA. He clocked 13:52.92 to win the race but did not meet the Asian Games qualification mark of 13:39.18. Singh’s performance was significantly slower than his outdoor national record of 13:03.93, which he set last month in Los Angeles, USA.
Singh attributed his timing to the warm conditions and the new track, mentioning issues with grip and bounce. He also noted that he had not performed continuous speed workouts on the track. Singh is currently training at a high-altitude centre in Colorado Springs, USA, under coach Scott Simmons. This event marked his first competition in India this season, having participated in seven events in the USA earlier this year.
Other Notable Results
In the men’s 5000m, Abhishek Pal from Uttar Pradesh secured second place with a time of 13:54.18, followed by Harmanjot Singh of Punjab in third with 13:54.60. In the women’s 5000m, Seema from Himachal Pradesh finished first with 16:11.04, with Bharti from Haryana and Ravina Gayakwad from Maharashtra taking second and third respectively.
The women’s 100m hurdles saw Nandhini K. from Tamil Nadu finish second with 13.22, and Pragyan Prasanti Sahu from Odisha in third with 13.48. In the women’s triple jump, I. Asha Ilango from Tamil Nadu set a new meet record with 13.89m, surpassing the previous record of 13.72m. Niharika Vashisht and Mallala Anusha placed second and third.
The women’s hammer throw saw Tanya Chaudhary and Harshita Sehrawat finish behind Anushka Yadav. The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has designated these championships as a qualifying event for the Asian Games, which are scheduled to be held in Japan in September-October.
Source: thehindu.com
Arjun Sharma
Sports Reporter