Indian Athletes Shine at South Asian Junior Athletics Championship

The Indian contingent made a spectacular start at the South Asian Junior Athletics Championship. Pooja and Siddharth Choudhary claimed gold medals, setting new meet records. Sri Lanka excelled in middle distance events. The championship aims to provide regional athletes with more competitive opportunities. Future events are planned across South Asia.

The Indian contingent made a spectacular start as Pooja and Siddharth Choudhary clinched gold medals with record-breaking performances on the opening day of the South Asian Junior Athletics Championship in Chennai on Wednesday.

In the women's 100m sprint, the Indian team secured a 1-2 finish, while Sri Lanka took gold and silver in the men's 100m dash. Meet records tumbled in both the men's and women's 100m races. Pooja claimed gold with a jump of 1.80m, surpassing the previous record of 1.75m. Despite efforts to beat her national U20 high jump record, she missed at 1.84m. In men's shot put, Siddharth Choudhary threw a meet record distance of 19.19m, with Anurag Singh Kaler taking silver at 18.91m. Sri Lanka dominated middle distance events.

Lalit Bhanot, president of the South Asian Athletics Federation (SAAF), highlighted the importance of regional competitions for providing high-quality contests close to athletes' homes. All seven SAAF countries are competing in Chennai, with more regional events planned for the future, including the senior SAAF meet in Ranchi next month and the 2024 cross-country event in Pakistan.

(With inputs from agencies.)