Baranica Elangovan Shatters Her Own Record at Bhubaneswar Indoor Stadium

Record-Breaking Performance by Baranica Elangovan

Bhubaneswar: The Bhubaneswar Indoor Stadium has become a remarkable venue for Tamil Nadu's pole vaulter, Baranica Elangovan. In just under five weeks, the 29-year-old athlete has set a new national record twice at this location.

On Sunday, Baranica successfully cleared a height of 4.23 meters, surpassing her previous record of 4.22 meters, which she achieved during the inaugural National Indoor Athletics Championships held in late March.

She accomplished the 4.23m feat on her third attempt, while Nitika from Madhya Pradesh and Blessy Kunjumon from Kerala both reached 3.90m, sharing the second position.

"It was another successful day for me," Baranica expressed, reflecting on her new achievement in women's pole vaulting. She has relocated from Tamil Nadu to Odisha, where she trains in Bhubaneswar.

Athletes from Odisha made a significant mark at the championships, with Purnima Hembram winning the women's pentathlon.

Purnima amassed a total of 3835 points, while Jashbir Nayak secured a bronze medal in the men's heptathlon.

In the men's heptathlon, Thowfeeq N from NCOE Trivandrum led the competition with 5350 points, followed closely by Usaid Khan from the Army with 5288 points, and Jashbir with 5250 points.

The men's U20 heptathlon title was claimed by Kirthik Vasan S from Tamil Nadu, who scored 4609 points, ahead of Jinoy Jayan from NCOE Trivandrum with 4518 points and Aryan Parkash from Madhya Pradesh with 4509 points.

In the women's U20 pentathlon, Jaskiran Kaur from Uttarakhand took the top spot with 3272 points, followed by Priya from Haryana with 3133 points and Alfaz Kaur Grewal from Punjab with 3066 points.

Purnima's gold medal in the women's pentathlon was complemented by Isha Chandra Prakash from Uttarakhand, who finished second with 3671 points, and Bidisha Kundu from West Bengal, who secured third place with 3600 points.