Karnataka pole vaulter Sindhushree enters her name in record books
Bhubaneswar, June 26
Karnataka's aspiring pole vaulter Sindhushree G was among several athletes who successfully achieved the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games qualification standards in their respective events on the second day of the 65th National Inter State Senior Athletics Championships here at Bhubaneswar's Kalinga Stadium on Thursday.
On a day when as many as seventeen athletes achieved Japan Asian Games starting September 19 qualification criteria set by AFI (Athletics Federation of India), Sindhushree, 26, did so in style, according to a press release by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI).
On her way to winning the gold medal, she improved the national record to 4.25m, which was better than the Asian Games qualification mark of 4.10m. The previous record of 4.23m was set recently by Baranica who settled for silver with a height of 4.20m.
Sindhushree also bettered the meet record of 4.10m set by Pavithra Venkatesh in 2023. Jubilant Sindhushree said she was mentally prepared to book an Asian Games berth. "I had trained hard but the national record was a bonus," says Sindhushree.
Nitika Akare of Madhya Pradesh won the bronze medal (4.10m) and was the third pole vaulter to achieve the Asian Games qualification mark of 4.10m.
The women's 200m and 800m were two track events of the day in which the top three finishers bettered the Asian Games qualification mark. All three medal winners in women's shot put also achieved the Asian Games qualification mark.
Odisha's star sprinter Animesh Kujur was the only athlete in the men's 200m to achieve the Asian Games mark of 20.88 seconds. His gold medal winning time was 20.74 seconds.
In the highly competitive men's two-lap race, Mohammed Afsal of Kerala (1:48.57 secs) and Krishan Kumar from Haryana (1:48.82 secs) finished first and second, respectively. Both athletes bettered the Asian Games qualification time of 1:48.80 seconds.
"My goal is to improve my fitness to clock below 1:45 for the 800m in the near future," said Mohammed Afsal.
65th National Inter State Senior Athletics Championships Day 2 results
Men:
200m (AG Q Time 20.88 seconds): Animesh Kujur (Odisha) 20.74 seconds, Dondapathi Mruthy Jayaram (Odisha) 20.97 secs, Jishnu Prasad PK (Kerala) 21.18 secs.
800m (AG Q Time 1:48.80 seconds): Mohammed Afsal P (Kerala) 1:48.57 secs, Krishan Kumar (Haryana) 1:48.82 secs, Prathamesh Deore (Maharashtra) 1:48.89 secs.
Discus throw (AG Q Mark 60.13m): Kirpal Singh (Chandigarh) 57.37m, Nirbhay Singh (Haryana) 55.26m, Arjun (Delhi) 54.90m.
21km race walk (AG Q Time 1:25:37.00): Sevin Sebastian (Tamil Nadu) 1:31:49.00, Sachin Bohra (Uttarakhand) 1:32:10.00, Ningthoukhongja (Manipur) 1:32:24.00.
Decathlon (AG Q Mark 7250 points): Thowfeeq N (Kerala) 7276 points, Kushal Mohite (Maharashtra) 7251 points, Jasbir Nayak (Odisha) 7131 points.
Women:
200m (AG Q Time 23.70 seconds): Harita Bhadra (Maharashtra) 23.14 seconds, Unnathi Bollanda (Karnataka) 23.40 seconds, Prakruthi Poopa Rao (Karnataka) 23.58 seconds.
800m (AG Q Time 2:05.21 seconds): Gowthami Jayaraman (Tamil Nadu) 2:04.17, Pooja (Haryana) 2:04.37 secs, Lili Das (Uttarakhand) 2:04.59 secs.
Shot put (AG Q Mark 16.25m): Manpreet Kaur (Haryana) 17.75m, Krishna Jayashankar (Tamil Nadu) 16.69m, Srishti Vig (Delhi) 16.96m.
Pole vault (AG Q Mark 4.10m): Sindhushree G (Karnataka) 4.25m (NR previous national record 4.23m set by Baranica), Baranica Elangovan (Tamil Nadu) 4.20m, Nitika Akare (Madhya Pradesh) 4.10m.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Why are they still using old stadiums? Bhubaneswar's Kalinga Stadium is a good one, but our athletes deserve world-class training facilities. So many qualifiers from across India, shows talent is there, just need better sports infrastructure in tier-2 cities too.
Excellent to see 17 athletes qualifying for Asian Games in one day! Especially the pole vault competition was so close - Sindhushree (4.25m), Baranica (4.20m), and Nitika (4.10m). The competition itself is pushing everyone to do better. More like this should be promoted in schools!
As someone who follows Indian athletics closely, this is incredibly promising. The depth in women's pole vault, 200m, 800m, and shot put shows real progress. But let's not get carried away - Asian Games medals are still tough. Hope the federation gives these athletes proper international exposure before September.
The real story here is not just Sindhushree but the overall improvement in Indian athletics. From 800m to pole vault, across genders - we're finally seeing systematic growth. Mohammed Afsal's target of clocking 1:45 in 800m is ambitious but achievable. Jai Hind! 🇮🇳
Happy for Sindhushree but also want to highlight Baranica Elangovan who jumped 4.20m - she was just 0.05m behind the national record! Both are from South India performing well. However, we need more pole vault coaches across the country. Many talented athletes in rural areas are missing opportunities.
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