Bhubaneswar, June 25 (IANS) Karnataka’s aspiring pole vaulter Sindhushree G. was among several athletes who successfully achieved the qualification standards in their respective events in the upcoming Asian Games 2026 at Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, on the second day of the 65th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Thursday.

Sindhushree, 26, fulfilled the mark in style on a day when as many as seventeen athletes booked their berths for the Asian Games starting September 19 by achieving the qualification criteria set by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI).

On her way to winning the gold medal, she improved the national record to 4.25m, which was better than the Asian Games qualification mark of 4.10m. The previous record of 4.23m was set recently by Baranica, who settled for silver with a height of 4.20m.

Sindhushree also bettered the meet record of 4.10m set by Pavithra Venkatesh in 2023. Jubilant Sindhushree said she was mentally prepared to book an Asian Games berth. “I had trained hard, but the national record was a bonus,” says Sindhushree.

Nitika Akare of Madhya Pradesh won the bronze medal (4.10m) and was the third pole vaulter to achieve the Asian Games qualification mark of 4.10m.

The women’s 200m and 800m were two track events of the day in which the top three finishers bettered the Asian Games qualification mark. All three medal winners in women’s shot put also achieved the Asian Games qualification mark.

Odisha’s star sprinter Animesh Kujur was the only athlete in the men’s 200m to achieve the Asian Games mark of 20.88 seconds. His gold medal-winning time was 20.74 seconds.

In the highly competitive men’s two-lap race, Mohammed Afsal of Kerala (1:48.57 secs) and Krishan Kumar from Haryana (1:48.82 secs) finished first and second, respectively. Both athletes bettered the Asian Games qualification time of 1:48.80 seconds. “My goal is to improve my fitness to clock below 1:45 for the 800m in the near future,” says Mohammed Afsal.

Results (Day 2):

Men:

200m (AG Q Time 20.88 seconds): Animesh Kujur (Odisha) 20.74 seconds, Dondapathi Mruthy Jayaram (Odisha) 20.97 secs, Jishnu Prasad PK (Kerala) 21.18 secs.

800m (AG Q Time 1:48.80 seconds): Mohammed Afsal P (Kerala) 1:48.57 secs, Krishan Kumar (Haryana) 1:48.82 secs, Prathamesh Deore (Maharashtra) 1:48.89 secs.

Discus throw (AG Q Mark 60.13m): Kirpal Singh (Chandigarh) 57.37m, Nirbhay Singh (Haryana) 55.26m, Arjun (Delhi) 54.90m.

21km race walk (AG Q Time 1:25:37.00): Sevin Sebastian (Tamil Nadu) 1:31:49.00, Sachin Bohra (Uttarakhand) 1:32:10.00, Ningthoukhongja (Manipur) 1:32:24.00.

Decathlon (AG Q Mark 7250 points): Thowfeeq N (Kerala) 7276 points, Kushal Mohite (Maharashtra) 7251 points, Jasbir Nayak (Odisha) 7131 points.

Women:

200m (AG Q Time 23.70 seconds): Harita Bhadra (Maharashtra) 23.14 seconds, Unnathi Bollanda (Karnataka) 23.40 seconds, Prakruthi Poopa Rao (Karnataka) 23.58 seconds.

800m (AG Q Time 2:05.21 seconds): Gowthami Jayaraman (Tamil Nadu) 2:04.17, Pooja (Haryana) 2:04.37 secs, Lili Das (Uttarakhand) 2:04.59 secs.

Shot put (AG Q Mark 16.25m): Manpreet Kaur (Haryana) 17.75m, Krishna Jayashankar (Tamil Nadu) 16.69m, Srishti Vig (Delhi) 16.96m.

Pole vault (AG Q Mark 4.10m): Sindhushree G (Karnataka) 4.25m (NR previous national record 4.23m set by Baranica), Baranica Elangovan (Tamil Nadu) 4.20m, Nitika Akare (Madhya Pradesh) 4.10m.

–IANS

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