Bhubaneswar, March 24 (IANS) Tamil Nadu’s 29-year-old international pole vaulter Baranica Elangovan was the cynosure of all eyes on the opening day of the first edition of the National Indoor Athletics Championships at Indoor Stadium in Bhubaneswar, setting a new national record on Tuesday.

Baranica raised the bar to 4.22m to set a national record in the women’s pole vault. The previous national record of 4.21m was set by Rosy Meena Paulraj in 2022 in Bengaluru.

“It’s a good day for me to enter my name in the record books,” a jubilant Baranica said in a post-competition interaction. “I’ve been trying hard to cross 4.20m in the past, but Tuesday turned out to be a lucky day for me.”

She made an attempt to further raise the bar to 4.25m, but wasn’t successful in clearing the height.

Away from the pole vault arena, there was an exciting duel in men’s long jump between Praveen Chithravel of Tamil Nadu representing JSW and Odisha’s Sarun Payasingh.

But it was the 25-year-old Payasingh who clinched the gold medal in the men’s long jump with a distance of 7.80m, a personal best.

Odisha’s newly crowned champion was excited to have won gold in front of the home crowd.

“My main focus here at the National Indoor competition was to improve my personal best. I’m happy to have successfully achieved my goal,” the football turned long jumper said in the post-competition interaction.

Payasingh started with no mark but sailed to 7.80m in the second attempt, which earned him gold. The eventual winner had no marks on his third and fourth attempts. His fifth jump was 7.69m, and his last jump was 7.79m. Payasingh said he recently changed his jumping technique, which paid dividends. “I’m on the right track,” Payasingh added.

Payasingh’s previous best of 7.78m was recorded recently at the Indian Open Jumps Competition in Bengaluru.

The main focus in the men’s long jump was on Tamil Nadu’s international athlete Praveen Chithravel. The national record holder in the triple jump was competing here in the long jump to gain valuable indoor experience. “It was a good experience for me here in Bhubaneswar,” Chithravel added.

Chithravel’s opening jump was 7.32m. He recorded 7.78m in his second jump, and his third jump was 7.55m. Chithravel’s main goal is the upcoming 29th National Senior Athletics Federation Competition in Ranchi, scheduled to be held between May 22 and 25.

The competition in Ranchi assumes significance as its qualification event for the July 23 to August 2 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

Earlier, Odisha’s Sports and Youth Services Minister Suraj Suryabanshi inaugurated the competition, saying the first National Indoor Athletics Championships here at Bhubaneswar’s Kalinga Stadium was a historic chapter in Indian athletics.

“Hosting the 2028 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Bhubaneswar will further reaffirm Odisha as the Sports Capital of India,” he added.

Results (day one):

Men: 800m: Mohammed Afsal (Air Force) 1:47.86 seconds, Kalyan JR (Karnataka) 1:53.98 seconds, Sayan Karmakar (West Bengal) 1:56.98 seconds.

Men: U20: 800m: Lokesh Magendhiran (Tamil Nadu) 1:53.92 seconds, Rajdip Pal (West Bengal) 2:02.34 seconds.

Men: 3,000m: Shivaji Parashuram (Reliance) 8:09.88 seconds, Vinod Singh (Madhya Pradesh) 8:16.93 seconds, Rahul Kumar Verma (Chhattisgarh) 8:18.21 seconds.

Men: 60m hurdles: Krishik M (Karnataka) 7.71 seconds, Rathish P (Reliance) 7.84 seconds, Muhammed Lazan (JSW) 8.00 seconds

Men: Long jump: Sarun Payasingh (Odisha) 7.80m, Praveen Chithravel (JSW) 7.78m, David P (Railway) 7.69m.

Men: Shot put: Ravi Kumar (BSF) 17.17m, Adhish Ghildiyal (Uttarakhand) 16,92m, Balaji (Tamil Nadu) 16.74m

Men: U20: Shot put: Ommkar Prasad Nand (Odisha) 17.77m, SAI Kiran A (NCOE Patiala) 17.00m, Harshit Gahlot (JSW) 16.98m

Women: 3,000m: Priyanka C (Karnataka) 9:42.05 seconds, Kajal Rangnath (Gujarat) 9:44.01 seconds, Sushmita Tigga (Odisha) 10:22.30 seconds.

Women: Shot put: Rekha (NCOE Patiala) 15.63m, Mayuri Arade (Karnataka) 9.15m.

Women: U20: Shot put: Dona Maria (Kerala) 13.35m, Khusboo (Haryana) 12.03m, Akhshaya GR (Tamil Nadu) 11.89m.

Women: Pole vault: Baranica Elangovan (Tamil Nadu) 4.22m, Blessy Kunjumon (Kerala) 3.95m, Mariya Jaison (Kerala) 3.380m.

Women: Long jump: Anamika KA (JSW) 6.05m, Manisha Merel (Odisha) 6.04m, Sherin A (JSW) 5.92m.

–IANS

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