Hammer thrower Anushka Yadav and pole vaulter Dev Meena set new national records at the 65th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships held at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday. Both athletes also achieved the qualification marks for the 2026 Asian Games in Japan.
Dev Meena Breaks Own Pole Vault National Record
Dev Meena of Madhya Pradesh cleared 5.46m to improve his own national record of 5.45m, which he jointly held with training partner Kuldeep Kumar. His performance surpassed the Asian Games qualification mark of 5.45m. "It is good to improve the national record before going to the Glasgow Commonwealth Games," said the newly crowned champion. "The competition was challenging, nonetheless I'm excited to have enhanced my profile," he added while speaking to ANI. The top three pole vaulters also improved the meet record of 5.20m set by M Gowtham in 2025.
Anushka Yadav Sets Hammer Throw National Record
Eighteen-year-old Anushka Yadav of Uttar Pradesh produced a massive throw of 67.02m to erase the previous national record of 65.25m set by Sarita A Singh in 2017. The meet record of 65.03m, set by Rachna in 2023, was also broken. Her throw secured her a berth for the Asian Games. "I'm thankful to my family for all the support as I was on the injured list earlier in March," said the jubilant Anushka. "I can't express my happiness of booking a berth to board a flight to the Japan Asian Games," she added.
Jyothi Yarraji Wins Gold on Comeback
National record holder Jyothi Yarraji made a strong comeback in the women's 100m hurdles, winning gold in 12.99 seconds. The time was under the 13-second mark and comfortably met the Asian Games qualification standard of 13.34 seconds. "It's sheer irony that I got injured on June 24 last year and after 12 long agonising months of rehab I'm making a comeback--that too with sub-13 seconds for the 100m hurdles," said an emotional Jyothi. She had already bettered the qualification mark in the heats. Nandhini K of Tamil Nadu won silver in 13.22 seconds, also achieving the Asian Games mark.
Other Notable Performances
Tamil Nadu's triple jumper Lasha Ilango won gold with a leap of 13.89m, improving the meet record and surpassing the Asian Games qualification mark of 13.34m. In the morning session, Gulveer Singh of Uttar Pradesh comfortably won the men's 5,000m in 13:52.92 seconds. In the men's 800m heats, more than ten athletes improved the Asian Games qualification mark of 1:48.80 seconds.
Key Results
Men:
5,000m (AG Q Time 13:39.18): Gulveer Singh (UP) 13:52.92, Abhishek Pal (UP) 13:54.18, Harmanjot Singh (Punjab) 13:54.60.
Pole Vault (AG Q Mark 5.45m): Dev Meena (MP) 5.46m (NR), Reegan G (TN) 5.30m, Kuldeep Kumar (MP) 5.20m.
Women:
5,000m (AG Q Time 15:36.58): Seema (HP) 16:11.04, Bharti (Haryana) 16:17.10, Ravina Gayakwad (Maharashtra) 16:32.92.
Triple Jump (AG Q Mark 13.34m): Lasha Ilango (TN) 13.89m, Niharika Vashisht (Punjab) 13.22m, Mallala Anusha (AP) 13.13m.
100m Hurdles (AG Q Time 13.34s): Jyothi Yarraji (AP) 12.99s, Nandhini K (TN) 13.22s, Pragyan P Sahu (Odisha) 13.48s.
Hammer Throw (AG Q Mark 61.72m): Anushka Yadav (UP) 67.02m, Tanya Chaudhary (UP) 61.70m, Harshita Sehrawat (Delhi) 60.92m.
