Record-Breaking Performances Shine at National Junior Athletics Competition
Highlights from Day Two of the National Junior Athletics Championships
The second day of the 24th National Junior (U20) Athletics Federation Competition took place at Mahatma Gandhi Stadium in Tumkur, Karnataka, showcasing three new national junior records. Nitin Gupta, an Asian junior silver medalist from the Army, set a remarkable new record in the men's U20 5,000m race walk, while Mohammed Ashfaq made headlines by breaking both the national junior and meet records in the men's 400m event, as reported by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI).
Nitin Gupta achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first Indian race walker to finish the junior men’s 5,000m race walk in under 19 minutes, clocking in at 18:54.37. This performance surpassed his previous national record of 19:24.48, which he set last year in Patna, and also exceeded the standards set at the Asian U20 Athletics Championships.
Shahnavaz Khan, a long jumper from Uttar Pradesh, also made his mark in the record books.
In the women's 5,000m race walk, Ranjana Yadav from Madhya Pradesh broke the national record with a gold-winning time of 23:22.12, surpassing the previous record of 23:43.58 set by Manisha last year in Bhubaneswar.
The men's 400m race was one of the most thrilling events of the day, with six out of eight finalists finishing under the Asian junior qualification mark of 47.53 seconds.
Kerala's Mohammed Ashfaq stole the spotlight by setting new national junior and meet records with a winning time of 46.05 seconds, breaking the previous junior national record of 46.26 seconds established by Amoj Jacob in 2017. The former meet record was 46.58 seconds, set last year by Astik Pradhan P.
The women's 400m event also showcased impressive performances, with seven finalists surpassing the Asian junior qualification mark of 55.99 seconds. Neeru Pathak from NCOE Trivandrum clinched gold with a time of 54.31 seconds.
Tamil Nadu's Kavinraja S, the pole vault champion, improved his national record to 5.12m, surpassing his previous best of 5.11m set last year.
Shahnavaz Khan concluded the day with a remarkable jump of 8.23m, breaking both his own meet record of 7.90m and the national junior record of 8.20m set by Murali Sreeshankar in 2018, achieved on his fourth attempt.
Results from Day Two:
Men:
400m (Asian Jr Q Time 47.53 seconds): Mohammed Ashfaq (Kerala) 46.05 (NR), Piyush Raj (Bihar) 46.62 secs, Ranjith Kumar S (Tamil Nadu) 46.90 secs.
1500m (Asian Jr Q Time 3:51.76): Vansh Kumar (Uttar Pradesh) 3:52.29 secs, Hitesh (Haryana) 3:53.76 secs, Rohit Sagar (Uttar Pradesh) 3:53.91 secs.
110mh (Asian Jr Q Time 13.74 seconds): Kiran K (Kerala) 13.75 secs, Saif Farooq C (Maharashtra) 13.86 secs, Fasalul Haque (Kerala) 14.05 secs.
Hammer throw (Asian Jr Q Mark 65.97m): Ashuvendra Pratap S (Uttar Pradesh) 67.87m, Aman (Haryana) 67.39m, Kartik (Uttar Pradesh) 65.08m.
Pole vault (Asian Jr Q Mark 5.10m): Kavinraja S (Tamil Nadu) 5.12 (NR), Ashish Kumar Yadav (Madhya Pradesh) 4.70m, R Vishal (Tamil Nadu) 4.60m.
Shot put (Asian Jr Q Mark 19.02m): Sai Kiran A (NCOE Patiala) 18.65m, Akhand Pratap Singh (Uttar Pradesh) 17.81m, Ommkar Prasad Nand (Odisha) 17.52m.
5,000m race walk (Asian Jr Q Time 19:53.57): Nitin Gupta (Uttar Pradesh) 18:54.37 (NR), Tushar Panwar (Uttarakhand) 19:48.77, Himanshu Panwar (Uttarakhand) 19:56.74.
Decathlon (Asian Jr Q 6274 points): Upkar (Rajasthan) 7039 points, Jakhar Rahul (Gujarat) 6939 points, Abhay Singh (BSF) 6931 points.
Women:
400m (Asian Jr Q Time 55.99 seconds): Neeru Pathak (NCOE Trivandrum) 54.31 seconds, Tahura Khatun (ONGC) 54.39 secs, Bhoomika Nehate (Maharashtra) 54.68 secs.
1500m (Asian Jr Q Time 4:30.58): Radha Yadav (Madhya Pradesh) 4:32.64 seconds, Snehal Kharat (Maharashtra) 4:36.71 secs, Jhanhavi Dnyaneshwar (Maharashtra) 4:38.39 secs.
100mh (Asian Jr Q Time 13.66 seconds): Yamini Karthikeyan (Tamil Nadu) 13.79 seconds, Bhavana G (Tamil Nadu) 14.07 secs, Nupura Holla (Karnataka) 14.22 secs.
Shot put (Asian Jr Q Mark 15.13m): Anupriya VS (Kerala) 14.35m, Pooja Kumari (NCOE Patiala) 13.80m, Madhumitha V (Tamil Nadu) 13.38m.
Long jump: Munmun Chetia (Assam) 6.03m, Sadhana Ravi (Tamil Nadu) 5.74m, Shreshta Prasad (Maharashtra) 5.58m.
5,000m race walk (Asian Jr Q Time 22:41.50): Ranjana Yadav (Madhya Pradesh) 23:22.12 (NR), Yogita (Haryana) 23:27.32, Manisha (Rajasthan) 23:43.94.