Bhubaneswar: Anushka Yadav, an 18-year-old hammer thrower from Uttar Pradesh, made headlines by breaking the national record with an impressive performance, while pole vaulter Dev Meena also established a new national mark during the exciting opening day of the National Inter-State Championships held here on Wednesday.
Anushka, who comes from a farming family in Baleni village, Baghpat district, launched the hammer a remarkable 67.02m, surpassing the previous national record of 65.25m set in 2017 by Sarita Singh. This achievement makes her the youngest national record holder in athletics. She improved her previous personal best of 62.89m, which she achieved while winning gold at the National Games last year, by over four meters.
Notably, Anushka broke the national record twice in her six attempts. She started with a throw of 62.07m, then exceeded Sarita’s record with a second-round throw of 65.64m. Following throws of 64.81m, 61.89m, and a foul, she capped her performance with a stunning 67.02m in her final attempt. Her first throw also surpassed the Asian Games qualifying mark of 61.72m set by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI). Currently, she ranks 11th among Asian hammer throwers this season.
In the men’s pole vault, Madhya Pradesh’s Dev Meena made history by clearing 5.46m, breaking the previous national record of 5.45m. In last month’s Federation Cup, both Meena and Kuldeep Kumar had set the then-national record of 5.45m. Kumar, also from Madhya Pradesh, finished third with a jump of 5.20m, while Tamil Nadu’s G Reegan took second place with 5.30m.
Both Meena and Kumar have been selected for the 32-member Indian team for the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
In another highlight, national record holder in the 100m hurdles, Jyothi Yarraji, made a remarkable return to competition after a year-long injury layoff, running under 13 seconds to qualify for the Asian Games. After undergoing successful ACL surgery in July last year, Yarraji clocked 13.14 seconds in the heats, surpassing the AFI’s Asian Games qualifying standard of 13.34 seconds. In the final, she won gold with an impressive time of 12.99 seconds. The 26-year-old, who competed with tape on both legs, previously won a silver medal at the 2022 Asian Games in China, and her national record is 12.78 seconds, set in 2023. She suffered her injury during training in June last year.
Meanwhile, reigning Asian champion and national record holder Gul Veer Singh was unable to meet the Asian Games qualifying mark in the men’s 5000m race, finishing with a less-than-stellar time in the championship’s opening event.
The championship is co-organized by the Athletics Federation of India and the Department of Sports and Youth Services, Government of Odisha. Suryabanshi Suraj, Minister of Sports and Youth Services for the Government of Odisha, was present as the chief guest to officially inaugurate the competition.
During the event, Suraj encouraged the athletes and commended Odisha’s sports infrastructure, expressing his hopes for the success of the competitors and confidence that this championship would contribute to the state’s sporting legacy. Other notable dignitaries at the inauguration included Lalit Kumar Bhanot, President of the South Asian Athletics Federation; Bhupendra Singh Poonia, Commissioner-cum-Secretary of the Sports and Youth Services Department; Yeddula Vijay, Sports Director; and Abhijit Paul, President of the Odisha Olympic Association.
