Federation Cup 2025 Review: Low on Star Power, High on Breakthroughs

Before he stepped out to compete at the 2025 Federation Cup in Kochi, Praveen Chithravel wrote down something behind his numbered bib ahead of the start of the men’s triple jump competition. Later, once he’d won gold while equalling his own national record of 17.37m, the 23-year-old revealed just what he had written:

‘17.20m’

Chithravel had come in with high expectations and ended up exceeding them at the Maharaja Stadium in Kochi. That was true for much of the rest of the competition as well.

Conditions in Kochi were oppressive. Entry standards instituted for the first time meant there were fewer participants than in previous years. Also, some of India’s top athletes weren’t competing — double Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra was training in South Africa, steeplechase record holders Parul Chaudhary and Avinash Sable were in the USA, as was Gulveer Singh, who holds records in the 5,000m and 10,000m. Despite all this, the 28th edition of the Federation Cup more than served its purpose as Indian athletics’ first major national-level competition of the 2025 season.

Two national records were set — by Animesh Kujur in the men’s 200m, and Dev Meena in the men’s pole vault. Another, by Chithravel in triple jump, was equalled. New stars began to emerge, while some prospects who had been struggling began to find form.

Chithravel’s effort of 17.37m — achieved on his third attempt — was easily the strongest performance at the Federation Cup. Although it’s still early in the year, only two jumpers have leapt further than him this season. By virtue of this performance, he has already qualified for the World Championships in Tokyo.

With three jumps still in hand, Chithravel, in all likelihood, could have improved on the 17.37. “It would have been nice to have the record, but I’m thinking beyond it. I could have got the record here, but what’s the point of risking an injury when there is a whole season ahead? I’ve made this jump (in 2023) before, but that year I was never able to come close to it. This year I want to be a lot more consistent,” he said.

Apart from the World Championships, Chithravel also met the Athletics Federation of India’s own qualifying standard for the Asian Championships in May. Having equalled his personal best, Chithravel, you might think, would be tempted to set a record as his goal, but, once again, he says 17.20m will be his target. “Right now I want to be consistent. Anything above 17.20m would be good enough for me,” he says. A jump of that magnitude should place him on the podium.

A medal is also now on Animesh’s mind. Having started training seriously only four years ago, he had been flirting with the Indian 200m record for a year now. But everything came together for him on the final day of the Federation Cup, as he clocked a new record: 20.40.

“The 200m is my race. When I run it, I’m confident no one else can win it,” Animesh said after his victory. Thanks to his timing in Kochi, he now heads into the Asian Championships as a surprise favourite — not just for a podium finish, but potentially to become the first Indian ever to win the event. In the last quarter of a century, just one athlete has ever run a faster time than 20.40 at the Asian Championships.

Pole vaulter Dev improved on his own national record of 5.31m — set at last month’s National Games — with a clearance of 5.35m in Kochi. The fact that he made his clearance in his first attempt at that height, and by several inches, suggests that there are more records on the horizon. “I think I could have jumped 5.45m or even 5.50 without doing anything different,” he told  Sportstar after the competition.

However, unexpected rain shortly after his 5.35m clearance meant Dev chose not to risk slipping while attempting a higher jump. As a result, he missed the opportunity to qualify for the Asian Championships, with the AFI holding firm on the 5.51m qualification standard. Though he won’t compete again until the National Inter-State Championships in August, Dev’s steady progress suggests another record could well be on the horizon.

While Dev will have to wait to get a chance to show his ability, a fair number of athletes will get their chance very soon at the Asian Championships. Twinkle Chaudhary (2:00.71) clocked the fourth-fastest time by an Indian in the 800m, while 22-year-old Pooja from Haryana wasn’t far behind with an impressive time of 2:02.89.

Tejaswin Shankar (7603) came within 63 points of his own national record of 7666 in the men’s decathlon, set at the Asian Games in Hangzhou. It’s a number Tejaswin says he could have crossed by 100 points if conditions had been more favourable — and he will get that chance in the far cooler climes of Gumi, South Korea, in a few weeks.

For some others, the Fed Cup was an important return to form. Perhaps no athlete would feel this as strongly as Shaili Singh. The 21-year-old was seen as the heir apparent to her coach, World bronze medallist Anju Bobby George, after making the second-best ever jump by an Indian (6.76m) in 2023.

Since then, though, Shaili has struggled, as injuries — first to her shoulder at the Asian Games and then subsequently to her take-off leg — took their toll. Despite her best efforts, she failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics.

2025, though, is a new start. Shaili seems to have found her feet with a jump of 6.64m in the women’s long jump. The jump was a new meet record, erasing the 23-year-old mark of 6.59m set by Anju herself.

While Shaili appears to be on the right track, she will have company in Gumi. Asian Games silver medallist Ancy Sojan seemed to be struggling for much of the competition before clearing 6.46m in her penultimate jump. She then concluded with a monstrous jump that seemed well over the 6.70m mark — but for the unfortunate blemish of starting a millimetre beyond the take-off board. She’ll get her chance soon enough — as will some of India’s best athletes.

They might have started off impressively, but they know that the real test of the season begins now. That’s certainly what Chithravel believes.

“Now the real challenge starts. It’s not just important to have one or two big performances. We have to show that we can consistently stay at this level,” he says.