Bhubaneswar, June 25: Karnataka's Sindhushree G etched her name into the record books with a stunning national-record-breaking performance in the women's pole vault on Day 2 of the 65th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships at the Kalinga Stadium on Thursday (June 25).
The 26-year-old cleared 4.25m to win the gold medal, surpassing the previous national record of 4.23m held by Tamil Nadu's Baranica Elangovan. In the process, Sindhushree also breached the Athletics Federation of India's Asian Games qualification standard of 4.10m and rewrote the meet record of 4.10m set by Pavithra Venkatesh in 2023.
It was a landmark evening for Indian women's pole vault as all three medal winners crossed the Asian Games qualification mark.
Baranica
Elangovan claimed silver with a clearance of 4.20m, while Madhya Pradesh's Nitika Akare took bronze after clearing exactly 4.10m.
"I was mentally prepared to book an Asian Games berth. I had trained hard, but the national record was a bonus," said a delighted Sindhushree after her victory.
Seventeen Athletes Achieve Asian Games Qualification
The second day witnessed a remarkable surge in performances, with as many as 17 athletes meeting the qualification standards for the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya.
Several events saw multiple athletes achieve the required marks, underlining the growing depth in Indian athletics.
Animesh Kujur Continues Impressive Run
Odisha sprint star Animesh Kujur emerged as the only athlete in the men's 200m final to go below the Asian Games qualification mark of 20.88 seconds. Competing in front of his home crowd, Kujur clinched gold with a timing of 20.74 seconds. "My target today was to only earn the Asian Games qualification. The conditions were hot and humid here. Now, I am looking to better my timing and do well on the CWG and Asian Games 2026," the national record holder told myKhel.
Fellow Odia sprinter Dondapathi Mruthy Jayaram finished second in 20.97 seconds, while Kerala's Jishnu Prasad PK claimed bronze in 21.18 seconds.
Afsal Targets Sub-1:45 After 800m Gold
The men's 800m final produced one of the most competitive races of the day. Kerala's Mohammed Afsal secured gold in 1:48.57 seconds, becoming one of only two athletes in the race to better the Asian Games qualification standard of 1:48.80. Talking about his performance, Afsal - the Hangzhou Asian Games silver medallist - told myKhel, "My aim is to improve my timings and clock below 1:45, and do well in Japan in the Asian Games. I want to change the colour of my medal and clinch a gold medal. "
Haryana's Krishan Kumar finished second in 1:48.82 seconds, narrowly missing the qualification mark by just 0.02 seconds, while Maharashtra's Prathamesh Deore took bronze in 1:48.89.
Women's Middle-Distance Runners Shine
The women's 800m witnessed all three medal winners crossing the Asian Games qualification standard of 2:05.21.
Tamil Nadu's Gowthami Jayaraman claimed gold in 2:04.17, ahead of Haryana's Pooja (2:04.37) and Uttarakhand's experienced runner Lili Das (2:04.59).
Similarly, all three medallists in the women's 200m went below the qualification mark of 23.70 seconds.
Maharashtra's Harita Bhadra won gold in 23.14 seconds, while Karnataka duo Unnathi Bollanda (23.40) and Prakruthi Poopa Rao (23.58) completed the podium.
Shot Put Trio Cross Qualification Mark
The women's shot put competition also produced three Asian Games qualifiers. Haryana's Manpreet Kaur dominated the field with a winning throw of 17.75m.
Tamil Nadu's Krishna Jayashankar secured silver with 16.69m, while Delhi's Srishti Vig claimed bronze with 16.96m. All three comfortably exceeded the qualification standard of 16.25m.
Decathlon Stars Secure Qualification
The men's decathlon ended with Kerala's Thowfeeq N emerging victorious with 7276 points. Maharashtra's Kushal Mohite finished second with 7251 points, and both athletes crossed the Asian Games qualification mark of 7250 points.
Odisha's Jasbir Nayak claimed bronze with 7131 points.
Inter State Athletics 2026 Day 2: Other Results
In the men's discus throw, Chandigarh's Kirpal Singh won gold with 57.37m, ahead of Haryana's Nirbhay Singh (55.26m) and Delhi's Arjun (54.90m). None of the athletes managed to achieve the Asian Games qualification mark of 60.13m.
Tamil Nadu's Sevin Sebastian won the men's 21km race walk in 1:31:49, followed by Uttarakhand's Sachin Bohra and Manipur's Ningthoukhongja. The Asian Games qualification time of 1:25:37 remained out of reach.
While several events produced standout performances, Sindhushree's national-record-breaking vault remained the defining moment of Day 2, as Indian athletics continued its strong start to the Inter-State Championships in Bhubaneswar.
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