There was no denying Jyothi Yarraji her moment in the spotlight in the National Inter-State Athletics Championships at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Saturday, as she completed a double by winning the 100m Hurdles setting a new Meet Record for the second time in the day. She won in 12.92 seconds, to add to the 100m crown she had won on Friday.
Tejaswin Shankar (Delhi), better known for his Commonwealth Games High Jump bronze, and Swapna Burman, the 2018 Asian Games champion from Madhya Pradesh, won the Decathlon and Heptathlon titles respectively. Whether by accident or design, the schedule also allowed the combined events to be in focus, and not get lost amid a clutch of events.
A career-best 52.32m effort in the Javelin Throw helped Tejaswin settle any doubts about his getting to the 7500-point mark set as the Asian Games qualifying standard. He had already scored 7648 points in April, but it was important that he earned the Asian Games berth with a good show in the humid conditions here.
Swapna relished the challenge posed by overnight leader Agasara Nandini (Telangana). She responded with splendid efforts in the Long Jump and Javelin Throw to leave the overall result in no doubt. Swapna did enough to finish second in the 800m race and earn herself a tally of 5918 points, her best since the 5993 in the Asian Championships in Doha in 2019.
The jumping pit was the scene of an exciting battle. Praveen Chithravel (Tamil Nadu) pulled off a 17m effort in the Triple Jump to assert his superiority over his friends and rivals this season. He hit sand at 17.07m on his second try and watched season-best efforts by Abdullah Abubacker (16.88m) and Commonwealth Games champion Eldhose Paul (16.75m).
The women’s Pole Vault final was notable as much for Pavithra Venkatesh’s meet record as for her team-mates Rosy Meena Paulraj, National Record holder, and Baranica Elangovan, the season leader, registering no marks. Pavithra Venkatesh cleared the bar at 4.10m to erase the mark set by Khyati Vakharia in 2018, and confirm her berth in the Asian Games squad.
Earlier in the day, Jyothi improved her own meet mark in the heats by clocking 13.39 seconds. Nithya R (Tamil Nadu) was the other athlete who showed signs of form by winning her heat in 13.62 seconds. But in the final, it was Jyothi all the way from start to finish with Nithya having to hold off a surge by Nandini.
The results (finals):
Men
110m Hurdles: 1. Tejas Ashok Shirse (Maharashtra) 13.87 seconds; 2. Sachin Binu (Kerala) 13.99; 3. Ronald Babu (Madhya Pradesh) 14.24.
High Jump: 1. Sarvesh Anil Kushare (Maharashtra) 2.24m; 2. Jesse Sandesh (Karnataka) 2.24; 3. Bharath Vishwanathan (Tamil Nadu) 2.17.
Triple Jump: 1. Praveen Chithravel (Tamil Nadu) 17.07m; 2. Abdulla Abubacker (Kerala) 16.88; 3. Eldhose Paul (Kerala) 16.75.
Hammer Throw: 1. Taranveer Singh Bains (Punjab) 68.07m; 2. Nitesh Poonia (Rajasthan) 67.10; 3. Damneet Singh (Punjab) 65.86.
4x100m Relay: 1. Tamil Nadu (S Tamil Arasu, K Alakkiyadasan, R Saisiddharth, B Siva Kumar) 40.15 seconds; 2. Odisha 40.24; 3. Punjab 41.05.
Decathlon: 1. Tejashwin Shankar 7567 points (100: 11.22; LJ: 7.30; SP: 13.04; HJ: 2.20; 400: 49.26; 110H: 14.96; DT: 35.96; PV: 4.00; JT: 52.32; 1500: 4:38.49); 2. Yaman Deep Sharma (Rajasthan) 7165; 3. S Gokul (Kerala) 6937.
Women
100m Hurdles: 1. Jyothi Yarraji (Andhra Pradesh) 12.92 seconds (New Meet Record. Old: 13.39, Jyothi Yarraji, Bhubaneswar, 2023); 2. R Nithya (Tamil Nadu) 13.48; 3. Agasara Nandini (Telangana) 13.55.
Pole Vault: 1. Pavithra Venkatesh (Tamil Nadu) 4.10m (New Meet Record. Old: 4.00, Khyati Vakharia, Bengaluru, 2018); 2. G Sindhushree (Karnataka) 3.80; 3. Vanshika Ghanhas (Haryana) 3.40.
4x100m Relay: 1. Kerala (AS Sandra, PD Anjali, A Arathy, AP Shilbi) 46.35 seconds; 2. Andhra Pradesh 46.61; 3. Odisha 46.68.
Heptathlon: 1. Swapna Barman (Madhya Pradesh) 5918 points (100H: 13.99; HJ: 1.79; SP: 12.73; 200: 24.51; LJ: 6.04; JT: 46.86; 800: 2:20.86); 2. Agasara Nandini (Telangana) 5703; 3. Sowmiya Murugan (Andhra Pradesh) 5323.