T Mrithika was the only sprinter in the final to break the 12-second barrier. She broke more than a decade old women’s 100m meet record.   

Spotlight was on Tamil Nadu’s sprinters as they shattered 100m meet records in the men’s and women’s sections, respectively, on the opening day of the 21st National Youth Athletics Championships 2026, which got underway at Ludhiana’s Guru Nanak Stadium ​on Tuesday. The three-day U18 competition will conclude September 3.

Tamil Nadu’s T Mrithika raised her hands in jubilation as she crossed the women’s 100m finish line. On her way to the gold medal, she clocked 11.78 seconds, bettering the previous meet record of 11.80 seconds set by Dutee Chand in 2012 in Bengaluru.

Mrithika was the only sprinter in the final to break the 12-second barrier. Suchithra S of Karnataka edged past Saawari Kulkarni (Maharashtra) to win silver with a time of 12.03 seconds. Saawari clocked 12.09 seconds for bronze.

Tamil Nadu’s promising sprinter Neil Samraj R dominated the men’s 100m dash. His winning time of 10.46 seconds ​was better​ than the previous national record of 10.63 seconds set by Anshu Rajak in 2023 in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. The meet record of 10.68 seconds was in the name of Parth Singh set in 2024 in Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh.

Results:

Men:

100m: Neil Samraj R (Tamil Nadu) 10.46 seconds (NR previous best 10.63 secs), Mehebubul Ahamed (West Bengal) 10.74 seconds, Pushpendar Kumar (Delhi) 10.81 seconds.

Women

100m: T Mrithika (Tamil Nadu) 11.78 seconds (NMR previous best 11.80 seconds), Suchithra S (Karnataka) 12.03 seconds, Saawari Kulkarni (Maharashtra) 12.09 seconds. 

Discus throw: Oshin (Haryana) 45.98m, Dimpy Saini (Uttar Pradesh) 43.22m, Mansi Dangi (Haryana) 43.09m.

EOM