National Inter-State Championships: Sreeshankar wins long jump Gold; Rohit pips Sachin in men’s javelin

Javelin thrower Rohit Yadav, long jumper Murali Sreeshankar, and steeplechaser Ankita Dhyani clinched the gold medals in their respective events at the 64th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships on Sunday but there were hardly any celebrations.

It was the last day to meet the entry standard for next month’s World Championships but the domestic meet at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium finished without a single automatic qualifier.

Hence, Rohit, Sreeshankar and Ankita will have to wait anxiously to know whether any of them will make the trip to Tokyo via the World Rankings qualification route as the final list of athletes will be released on Wednesday.

Asian Games silver medallist Sreeshankar maintained his perfect record this season since his return in July this year after sustaining a tear in patellar tendon in April of 2024 which forced him to miss the Paris Olympics. While the 26-year-old jumper from Kerala could only manage a best of 8.06m – 21cm shorter than the Worlds qualification mark – he met the criterion of participating in a minimum of five events to enter the World Rankings.

However, Sreeshankar himself wasn’t too optimistic about his qualification chances. “No, I don’t think I’ll qualify through the rankings route. I’m not sure but I think the season is pretty much done for me. I’ll probably miss out by one or two spots,” he said.

In javelin throw, the 24-year-old Rohit recorded a new personal best of 83.65m to pip Asian Championships silver medallist Sachin Yadav (83.20m). Maharashtra’s Shivam Lohakare (80.20m) finishing third.

Rohit Yadav registered his personal best of 83.65m on his way to the gold medal.
| Photo Credit:
RAGU R/The Hindu

While Sachin (currently 22nd in World Rankings) and fourth-placed Yash Vir Singh (30th in World Rankings) are most likely to join reigning world champion Neeraj Chopra in Tokyo, whether Rohit will be the fourth Indian in the field of 36 athletes remains to be seen.

UP’s Rohit had qualified for the World Championships 2023 in Budapest but could not compete due to a ligament tear in his right elbow which required surgery and kept him out of action for more than a year.

“I tried to cross 85.50m (entry standard for World Championships) today. I do feel a bit low because I know I had the ability to breach that mark but it could not happen,” said Rohit.

He also mentioned that similar to previous competitions, he expected to receive a message from Neeraj regarding his performance and where he could have done better.

In women’s 3000m steeplechase, Ankita is currently holding on to the second last spot available for Worlds through the rankings quota. Her timing of 9:44.83s was 13 seconds slower than her personal best. As it stands, only National Record holder Parul Chaudhary is guaranteed a spot in Tokyo as she had achieved the qualifying standard on her way to the silver medal at the Asian Championships in May.

Tamil Nadu clinched both men’s (101 points) and women’s (90 points) team championships.

Local boy Vishal TK, who set a new National Record of 45.12s in men’s 400m, and Uttarakhand’s Ankita Dhyani, the women’s 3000m steeplechase gold medallist, were named the best male and female athletes, respectively.

Published on Aug 24, 2025