Athletes Shine at National Inter-State Championships in Bhubaneswar

Highlights from the 65th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], June 27: Sprinters Unnathi Aiyappa and Amiya Kumar Mallick shared insights on their relay performances and training after the third day of the 65th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships. During this event, 13 athletes met the qualification standards for the Asian Games, with six male triple jumpers also securing their spots.

Unnathi Aiyappa, a sprinter from Karnataka specializing in the 100m and 200m events, reflected on her experience in the women's 4x100m relay. She emphasized the significance of effective baton exchanges, stating, “We were confident in our team, but we needed to improve our baton handoffs. We only had an hour to warm up and practice a few exchanges. I have qualified for the Asian Games in the 200 meters and aim to win a medal there.”

On the other hand, seasoned sprinter Amiya Kumar Mallick commended the Odisha 4x100m relay team for their performance while acknowledging areas for growth. He noted, “Odisha's 4x100m relay team excelled at the 2022 event. Although there were minor baton exchange issues, we are thrilled to have secured the gold medal at home. We appreciate the support from the Odisha State Government's Sports Department and the Athletics Federation of India. While we aimed for a specific time, we believe consistent performance will lead to achieving that goal. Currently, the national team has not yet qualified for the Asian Games.”

On the third day of the championships at Kalinga Stadium, six male triple jumpers were among the 13 athletes who surpassed the Asian Games qualification standards in their events.

The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) selection committee will finalize the Asian Games team after the championships conclude. Each track and field event will have two representatives.

The evening session began with hammer throwers, where Punjab's Damneet Singh won gold with a throw of 69.72m, surpassing the Asian Games qualification mark of 69.12m. Rajasthan's Praveen Kumar also qualified with a silver-winning throw of 69.58m.

In the discus throw, three athletes from Haryana—Seema, Sanya Yadav, and Nidhi—achieved throws exceeding the Asian Games qualification mark of 55.48m.

The men's triple jump event saw the top six jumpers meet the Asian Games qualification standard of 16.28m, with Praveen Chithravel taking gold with an impressive jump of 16.92m.

In track events, national record holder Tejas Shrise won the men's 110m hurdles comfortably, clocking 13.61 seconds, which was below the Asian Games qualification time of 13.63 seconds.

In the women's 400m hurdles heats, Tamil Nadu's Vithya Ramraj recorded a time of 56.69 seconds, keeping her hopes alive for an Asian Games spot.