Abhishek Mishra
The National Inter-state Senior Athletics Championship in Chennai drew to a close on Wednesday, also marking the end of the race for qualification to the Tokyo World Championship.
The B category meet served as the last qualifying chance for Indian athletes to book a World Championship berth. Unfortunately, no Indian met the direct entry standard to qualify directly for the event, but athletes gained crucial points and sealed spots at the World Championship through ranking points.
Javelin throwers shine but fall short of the entry standard
In the men’s javelin throw, Rohit Yadav of Uttar Pradesh clinched the title with a personal best throw of 83.65m. His statemate Sachin Yadav clinched a silver medal with a throw of 83.20m and young Shivam Lokhare secured the bronze.
Rohit failed to qualify though rankings as he missed it by just one point whereas Sachin and Yashvir Singh qualified for the Worlds through ranking points.
In the women’s javelin throw, Annu Rani won gold with a 61.05m throw. For Annu, the Chennai meet was more about rectification of error before entering the Worlds than winning gold.
The Asian Games gold medallist is confident of performing solidly at the Worlds. “I’m already throwing over 60m consistently, and I’m aiming to peak at the Worlds. I know that something different will happen this time,” said Annu.
Sprints and Jumps: Close Calls and Solid Wins
The fastest Indian Animesh Kujur clocked an impressive 20.63s representing Odisha in the men’s 200m winning gold, which helped him punch the ticket for the World Championship 2025 through ranking points, becoming the first Indian male sprinter to seal the berth for the Worlds.
The 2025 season saw the meteoric rise of Kujur. He was part of the national record-breaking 4×100m team, which clocked 38.69s. After a few weeks he bettered his own national record in the 200m, setting a new national record at the Asian Championship and on July 5 in Dromia, Greece, he ran an incredible 100m race, clocking 10.18s, securing all three records to his name.
The men’s long jump was the most awaited event for athletics fans in India, as Murali Sreeshankar has set his sights on the direct qualification mark of 8.27m after a 8.13m leap at the World Continental Tour in Bhubaneswar.
The spirited Indian jumper tried his best and leapt 8.06m, which was enough to win the gold medal and also seal the World Championship spot through ranking points.
Notable Performances at the Interstate.
Vishal TK – The young quartermiler from Tamil Nadu gave a national record-breaking performance, clocking 45.12s. He edged past Mohammad Anas’s mark that stood for six long years. Vishal clocked his fifth sub-46mark and was the only Indian to achieve this feat this season.
Dhanlakshmi Sekar – Returning after serving a three-year doping ban, Dhanalakshmi impressed with her performances. First, she broke the 100m state record at the Tamil Nadu State meet, then blazed the track of JN Stadium in Chennai at the Inter-state Championship, clocking her lifetime best of 11.36s. Later, she went on to win gold in the women’s 200m and was part of the gold medal winning relay team of Tamil Nadu.
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