Bhubaneswar: Records tumbled and Asian Games dreams gathered momentum at Kalinga Stadium on Thursday as athletes delivered a series of standout performances on the second day of the 65th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships, with 17 competitors achieving the qualification standards for the upcoming Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
Leading the day’s headline acts was Karnataka’s pole vaulter Sindhushree G, who produced a record-breaking performance to clinch gold and secure her place for the continental event scheduled to begin on September 19 in Japan.
The 26-year-old cleared 4.25 metres to establish a new national record, surpassing the previous mark of 4.23 metres. Her effort also bettered both the Athletics Federation of India’s Asian Games qualification standard of 4.10 metres and the championship record of 4.10 metres set in 2023.
Sindhushree said she had entered the competition with the goal of qualifying for the Asian Games and described the national record as an added achievement after months of preparation.
The women’s pole vault witnessed an exceptional contest as silver medallist Baranica Elangovan of Tamil Nadu cleared 4.20 metres, while Madhya Pradesh’s Nitika Akare secured bronze with 4.10 metres. Both athletes also crossed the Asian Games qualification mark.
Host state Odisha celebrated success through sprinter Animesh Kujur, who emerged as the lone athlete in the men’s 200m final to breach the qualification standard. Kujur sprinted to gold in 20.74 seconds, comfortably improving upon the required mark of 20.88 seconds. Fellow Odia athlete Dondapathi Mruthy Jayaram finished second.
In the men’s 800m final, Kerala’s Mohammed Afsal delivered a composed run to win gold in 1:48.57 seconds and qualify for the Asian Games. Haryana’s Krishan Kumar also crossed the qualifying standard while claiming silver. Following the race, Afsal said his focus now remains on improving further and targeting sub-1:45 timing in the near future.
Women athletes continued to dominate qualification charts across track and field events. Maharashtra’s Harita Bhadra won the women’s 200m title in 23.14 seconds, with Karnataka’s Unnathi Bollanda and Prakruthi Poopa Rao also crossing the Asian Games benchmark.
The women’s 800m witnessed another impressive display as Tamil Nadu’s Gowthami Jayaraman took gold ahead of Haryana’s Pooja and Uttarakhand’s Lili Das, with all three finishing inside the qualification standard.
In field events, Haryana’s Manpreet Kaur topped the women’s shot put with a throw of 17.75 metres. Tamil Nadu’s Krishna Jayashankar and Delhi’s Srishti Vig also secured qualification marks.
Kerala’s Thowfeeq N claimed gold in the decathlon with 7,276 points, while Maharashtra’s Kushal Mohite also achieved the qualifying score.
With multiple national records, meet records and qualification standards breached in just two days, the championship has intensified competition for places in India’s athletics contingent for the 2026 Asian Games.
The five-day championship, jointly organised by the Athletics Federation of India and the Odisha Government, will continue at Kalinga Stadium until June 28.
