National Inter-State Championships: Rain quashes Worlds hopes for Shirse; Aboobacker, Chithravel play it safe in triple jump final
For athletes looking to push themselves to the limit to have a shot at qualifying for next month’s World Championships, the rain-affected third day of the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai was a total nightmare.
Tejas Shirse clinched the men’s 110m hurdles gold on Friday but the National Record holder would have ideally liked to do much better than 13.60s to keep his hopes of qualifying for Worlds through the ranking route alive.
“I wanted to get the qualification. Even if I had run sub-13.50s, I would have qualified through the ranking points but I don’t know. I’m just unlucky, I guess,” said Tejas, who dedicated the win to his baby niece.
For triple jumpers Abdulla Aboobacker (likely to make it to Tokyo through ranking) and Praveen Chithravel (qualified through entry standard), the day was about saving themselves from any injury in slippery conditions. The duo finished second and third, respectively, with Kerala’s Karthik U. clinching the gold courtesy his last jump of 16.44m
Praveen Chithravel, who has qualified for the World Championships, finished third with a best of 16.35m.
| Photo Credit:
RAGU R/The Hindu
Praveen Chithravel, who has qualified for the World Championships, finished third with a best of 16.35m.
| Photo Credit:
RAGU R/The Hindu
Punjab’s Damneet Singh seemed in great shape to break Neeraj Kumar’s nine-year-old National Record of 70.73m in hammer throw. The 25-year-old began with an opening throw of 69.25m but once the conditions became treacherous, there wasn’t much he could do.
West Bengal’s Moumita Mondal was a rare exception as she recorded a new personal best of 13.22s to win the women’s 100m hurdles crown despite the rain.
Sprinter Animesh Kujur, who skipped the 100m individual event, led Odisha’s quartet to the 4x100m men’s relay title with a new Meet Record of 39.52s.
However, the 22-year-old Kujur will hope for better weather when he turns up for the men’s 200m event on Saturday where his objective will be to strengthen his position in the world rankings and qualify for Tokyo.
RESULTS (Finals)
Men
20km Race Walk: Gold – Kerala’s Bilin George Anto (1:29:35.12s), Silver – Rajasthan’s Mukesh Nitharwal (1:30:35.63s), Bronze – Manipur’s Khangembam (1:30:39.24s)
Hammer Throw: Gold – Punjab’s Damneet Singh (69.25m), Silver – Rajasthan’s Praveen Kumar (64.08m), Bronze – Haryana’s Gaurav (63.86m)
Triple Jump: Gold – Kerala’s Karthik U (16.44m), Silver – Kerala’s Abdulla Aboobacker (16.37m), Bronze – Tamil Nadu’s Praveen Chithravel (16.35m)
110m Hurdles: Gold – Maharashtra’s Tejas Shirse (13.60s), Silver – Tamil Nadu’s Manav R (14.03s), Bronze – Kerala’s Muhammed Lazan (14.08s)
5000m: Gold – UP’s Abhishek (15:00.83s), Silver – Maharashtra’s Kiran Matre (15:01.88s), Bronze – Haryana’s Rahul (15:07.71s)
4x100m Relay: Gold – Odisha (39.52s), Silver – Tamil Nadu (39.80s), Bronze – Kerala (40.55s)
Women
20km Race Walk: Gold – Haryana’s Ravina (1:35:13.49s), Silver – Uttarakhand’s Payal (1:40:29.94s), Bronze – Tamil Nadu’s Mokavi Muthurathinam (1:41:34.72s)
100m Hurdles: Gold – West Bengal’s Moumita Mondal (13.22s), Silver – Tamil Nadu’s Nandhini K (13.45s), Bronze – Kerala’s Anjali C (13.68s)
4x100m Relay: Gold – Tamil Nadu (44.73s), Silver – Karnataka (45.34s), Bronze – Kerala (46.54s)
Mixed
4x400m Relay: Gold – Karnataka (3:21.49s), Silver – Punjab (3:22.95s), Bronze – Tamil Nadu (3:23.73s)
Published on Aug 22, 2025