National Inter-State Athletics Championships: Tamil Nadu athletes steal spotlight with multiples meet records on Day 1
A sprint double, a shared gold, and multiple meet records – the 64th edition of the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships began with plenty to celebrate for the host at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday.
However, the larger objective of capitalising on the last chance to qualify for next month’s World Championships could not be achieved as no one could come even close to the entry standards for Tokyo.
On a typically hot and humid day — not ideal conditions for record-breaking performances — in the state capital, some of the athletes, dripping with perspiration, did push as hard as they could.
In the men’s 100m, local favourite Tamil Arasu S recorded the joint fourth-fastest time ever by an Indian as he raced to the finish line in 10.22s. He improved his own personal best (PB) timing by two tenths of a second and also bettered the four-year meet record of 10.27s set by Gurindervir Singh. The Punjab sprinter was not there to defend his title.
Dhana Lakshmi, 27, made it a double delight for Tamil Nadu by clinching the women’s 100m gold, with a PB of 11.36s, in only her third competition since her return to the track last month after serving a three-year doping ban.
In the men’s pole vault event, National Record holder Dev Meena was a major absentee. Local boys M. Gowtham and Reegan G decided to share the gold medal after both failed to go beyond 5.20m — already a PB for both as well as a new meet record — and could not be separated on countback also.
Reegan G in action during the men’s pole vault at the 64th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in Chennai.
| Photo Credit:
RAGU R/The Hindu
Reegan G in action during the men’s pole vault at the 64th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in Chennai.
| Photo Credit:
RAGU R/The Hindu
Seema set a new meet record in 5000m, clocking 15:42.64s to clinch the gold in an event which only had three participants. The 24-year-old from Himachal Pradesh had won hearts after her silver medal-winning performance in the same event at the recently held World University Games after being unfairly denied the chance to compete in the 10000m due to an administrative error from the Indian officials.
Amoj Jacob and Rajesh Ramesh, members of the Indian quartet which achieved a historic fifth-place finish in the 4x400m men’s relay at the World Championships in 2023, comfortably made it to the final of the individual event in Chennai.
However, R Vithya Ramraj, a title favourite in the women’s event, finished last in her semifinal and appeared to be grimacing with pain in her heavily-strapped left ankle.
Results (Finals only)
Men
10,000m: Gold – UP’s Abhishek Pal (30:56.64s), Silver – Karnataka’s Shivaji Parashu Madappa (30:57.69s), Bronze – UP’s Shivam (30:59.14s)
Pole Vault: Gold – Tamil Nadu’s Reegan G and M. Gowtham (5.20m), Bronze – Tamil Nadu’s Kamal Loganathan (5.00m)
100m: Gold – Tamil Nadu’s Tamil Arasu S (10.22s), Silver – Karnataka’s Manikanta H H (10.35s), Bronze – Tamil Nadu’s Ragul Kumar G (10.40s)
Women
Hammer Throw: Gold – UP’s Tanya Chaudhary (63.91m), Silver – Odisha’s Divya Shandilya (59.58m), Bronze – Rajasthan’s Maya (57.57m)
Triple Jump: Gold – Kerala’s Sandra Babu (13.20m), Silver – Kerala’s Aleena Saji (13.15m), Bronze – Punjab’s Niharika Vashisht (13.09m)
100m: Gold – Tamil Nadu’s Dhana Lakshmi (11.36s), Silver – Tamil Nadu’s Abinaya Rajarajan (11.58s), Bronze – Karnataka’s Sneha S S (11.602s)
5000m: Gold – Himachal Pradesh’s Seema (15:42.64s), Silver – Maharashtra’s Ravina Gayakwad (16:53.24s), Bronze – Jharkhand’s Sanghamitra Mahata (18:04.36s)
Published on Aug 20, 2025