The opening day of the 65th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar witnessed a series of outstanding performances, with young stars Anushka Yadav and Dev Meena rewriting the national record books, while star hurdler Jyothi Yarraji marked a sensational comeback by winning gold in the women's 100m hurdles.
Eighteen-year-old Anushka Yadav from Uttar Pradesh emerged as one of the biggest highlights of the day. The talented hammer thrower produced a stunning throw of 67.02 metres to shatter the previous national record of 65.25m set by Sarita Singh in 2017. Anushka first broke the record with a throw of 65.64m before improving it further in her final attempt. Her effort also surpassed the Athletics Federation of India's qualifying standard for the 2026 Asian Games, making her the youngest Indian to hold a senior national athletics record.
In the men's pole vault, Madhya Pradesh's Dev Meena continued his remarkable rise by clearing 5.46 metres, improving his own national record of 5.45m. The effort also secured him qualification for the 2026 Asian Games, as he crossed the required qualifying mark. Reegan G claimed silver with 5.30m, while Kuldeep Kumar finished third after clearing 5.20m.
Indian hurdling star Jyothi Yarraji made a dream return to competition after recovering from an ACL injury that had kept her out of action for nearly a year. The national record holder dominated the women's 100m hurdles, clocking 12.99 seconds in the final after running 13.14 seconds in the heats. She comfortably breached the Asian Games qualifying mark of 13.34 seconds, underlining her readiness for international competition. Nandhini K finished second in 13.22 seconds, while Pragyan Prasanti Sahu took bronze in 13.48 seconds.
The championships also produced several other notable performances. Asha Ilango won the women's triple jump with a leap of 13.89m to secure an Asian Games qualification mark, while Gulveer Singh claimed gold in the men's 5,000m. Although Gulveer finished first, his timing of 13:52.92 fell short of the qualification standard for the Asian Games.
With two national records, multiple Asian Games qualification marks and the successful return of one of India's top athletes, the opening day at the Kalinga Stadium delivered an exciting start to the four-day championship. The performances have raised expectations for more record-breaking displays as India's best track and field athletes continue their quest for places in the national team ahead of major international competitions.
