Indian sports wrap, January 11: All-India Inter-University athletics c’ships kicks off on Monday

ATHLETICS

All-India Inter-University athletics c’ships to be held in Mangalore

Indian athletics will have a small peep into the future when the 85th All-India Inter-University Championships begin at the Swarajya Maidan in Moodbidri, Mangalore on Monday.

The five-day event, organised by the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences in association with Alva’s Education Foundation, has attracted over 4000 athletes from 312 universities.

Junior National steeple chase record-holder Sharuk Khan, Junior National champions Mubassina Mohammed (long jump) and Nikita Kumari (discus throw), Khelo India University Games gold medallists Akash Raj (400m) and Deepanshi Singh (long jump) are some of the stars who will be in action.

University athletes have been throwing up some exceptional performances in the last few years and this meet could produce many surprises too.

The Alva’s Education Foundation has offered over Rs. 20 lakh in prize-money with the gold medallists taking Rs. 15,000 each while silver and bronze winners will receive Rs. 10,000 and 5,000 respectively. Record breakers stand to gain Rs. 25,000 and there are cash prizes for the team championships too.

The Swarajya Maiden was buzzing with athletes warming up for the event on Sunday evening but the opening day will have only two finals, the men’s and women’s 10,000m. There will be semifinals and qualifying rounds in other events.

Karnataka Legislative Assembly Speaker Dr. U.T. Khader Fareed will inaugurate the meet.

– Team Sportstar

Tata Mumbai Marathon: Packed field promises exciting record runs in 2026

The Tata Mumbai Marathon will soon return for its 21st year.

As many as eight men and six women who will take the starting line-up on Sunday, January 18, hold personal bests that are superior to the current event records for Mumbai. Ethiopians Hayle Lemi Berhanu (2:07:32) and Anchialem Haymanot (2:24:15) have held the event records since 2023.

It is a World Athletics Gold Label Road Race. The first three finishers in both men’s and women’s categories will receive USD 50000, USD 25000 and USD 15000 from the prize pot of USD 390,238. In addition, a reward of USD 15,000 is awaiting those who break the existing event records in their respective categories.

The men’s line-up for 2026 includes Merhawi Kesete from Eritrea, a runner-up here behind his countryman Berhane Tesfay last year. Kesete is the favourite this time for the title.

The 2026 women’s field includes three runners near 2:21. Zinah Senbeta clocked a world-class 2:21:05 while winning at Lyubliyana in 2023. But the fastest among the women’s entries is listed against Shure Demise, who clocked an impressive 2:20:59 in Dubai way back in 2015, which remains a World Best for a Junior (under-20) athlete over this distance so far.

– Team Sportstar

MOTORSPORT

Winning finish by champion Rahil Pillarisetty

Hyderabad’s Rahil Pillarisetty (RACR Castrol Power1) finished the season with a superb double while emerging champion in the premier Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open category on the concluding day of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship at the Madras International Circuit, in Chennai.

Chennai’s PM Soorya (Chandra LGE Racing) ended a nine-year wait for National title as he delivered a stunning win in the morning to pocket the championship in the Pro-Stock 200cc Open category and then cruised to third place in the next outing later in the day. Soorya’s arch-rival, Bengaluru’s Savion Sabu (Mad Rabbits Racing) could not present much of a challenge as he retired in Race-1 and came in fourth in Race-2.

The others who clinched the National championship included Chennai’s Jagathishree Kumaresan (One Racing) who retained her Girls (Stock 165cc) title, Rajender Beedani (MAI Racing) from Hyderabad who clinched the Stock 165cc (Novice) crown, Coimbatore’s Raj Kumar (Motul Sparks Racing) who topped the SuperSport Intermediate 165cc class for his maiden National title and Varun Patil (Mad Rabbits Racing) from Bengaluru who took the honours in the Stock 301-400cc (Novice) category.

– Team Sportstar

Published on Jan 11, 2026