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Bhubaneswar, Oct 10: Haryana's Asian Youth Champion Himanshu made a resounding statement on the opening day of the 40th National Junior Athletics Championships at Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar, on Friday (October 10).
The rising javelin thrower not only booked his ticket to the World U20 Championships but also rewrote the meet record in the U-18 Boys' category.
Himanshu hurled the 700g javelin to a staggering 79.96m, surpassing the previous meet record of 76.50m set by none other than Neeraj Chopra in 2014 at Vijayawada. The qualification standard for the World U20 Championships stands at 68.50m, comfortably cleared by Himanshu.
"I'll do better in the final tomorrow," said Himanshu confidently. "I've been regularly crossing the 80m mark in practice
and hope to further improve the meet record. "
The young star had earlier bagged gold at the 2025 Asian Youth Athletics Championships in Saudi Arabia with a throw of 67.57m. He revealed he hadn't used his personal javelin during that event, which affected his performance.
Meanwhile, Telangana's Mohit Choudhary impressed in the U20 men's 5,000m, setting a new meet record of 14:09.71 seconds, bettering Vinod Singh's 2024 mark of 14:12.67.
The qualification window for the 2026 World U20 Athletics Championships in Oregon, USA, runs from October 1, 2025, to July 26, 2026.
The first day of the championships also witnessed record-breaking performances in several other categories, underlining the bright future of Indian athletics.
National Junior Athletics Championships 2025: Day One Results
| Category | Event | Winners | Performance | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boys U20 | 100m | Parth Singh (Jharkhand) | 10.52s | - |
| Pratik Maharana (Odisha) | 10.72s | - | ||
| Jasjit Singh Dhillon (Punjab) | 10.79s | - | ||
| Boys U18 | 100m | Aditya Pisal (Maharashtra) | 10.71s | - |
| Chiranth P (Karnataka) | 10.71s | - | ||
| Savin Thingalaya (Karnataka) | 10.81s | - | ||
| Boys U20 | 5,000m | Mohit Choudhary (Telangana) | 14:09.71s | Meet Record (Prev: 14:12.67 by Vinod Singh, 2024) |
| Abhinandan S (Maharashtra) | 14:19.52s | - | ||
| Dhramraj Jat (Rajasthan) | 14:19.68s | - | ||
| Boys U16 | 60m | Abhinanth AB (Tamil Nadu) | 6.95s | Meet Record (Prev: 6.99s by D Raj, 2024) |
| Hariyant Pindwal (Uttar Pradesh) | 7.03s | - | ||
| Tharun A (Tamil Nadu) | 7.04s | - | ||
| Girls U18 | 100m | Aarti (Haryana) | 11.95s | - |
| Shourya Ambure (Maharashtra) | 12.16s | - | ||
| Prisha Mishra (Haryana) | 12.28s | - | ||
| Girls U20 | 100m | Suba Dharsini S (Tamil Nadu) | 11.94s | - |
| Kajal Vaja (Gujarat) | 12.01s | - | ||
| Nipam (Uttar Pradesh) | 12.03s | - | ||
| Girls U20 | 5,000m | Sonam Parmar (Madhya Pradesh) | 17:20.98s | - |
| Pratima Verma (Uttar Pradesh) | 18:04.57s | - | ||
| Pooja (Haryana) | 18:26.69s | - | ||
| Girls U20 | Discus Throw | Nitika Kumari (Rajasthan) | 48.81m | - |
| Supriya Attri (Uttar Pradesh) | 48.15m | - | ||
| Riddhi (Haryana) | 47.81m | - | ||
| Girls U16 | 60m | Jilsha Jinil (Kerala) | 7.81s | - |
| Mihika Surve (Maharashtra) | 7.81s | - | ||
| Pratiksha Mugade (Maharashtra) | 7.82s | - | ||
| Boys U14 | Triathlon (B) | Arthi SK (Tamil Nadu) | 3147 pts | Meet Record (Prev: 2802 pts) |
| Anushka (Haryana) | 2768 pts | - | ||
| Adwika KP (Karnataka) | 2739 pts | - | ||
| Girls U14 | Triathlon (C) | Sara Ghod (Maharashtra) | 2511 pts | - |
| Ritika (Haryana) | 2455 pts | - | ||
| Sumona Hansda (West Bengal) | 2398 pts | - |
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