Asian youth silver medallist, Nitin Gupta, announced his arrival at the senior level at the 64th National Open Athletics Championships in Ranchi
Indian Army’s teenage race walker, Nitin Gupta, outclass more experienced athletes to stamp his authority in the men’s 20km race walk on the penultimate day of the 64th National Open Athletics Championships here in Ranchi on Monday.
While two heavyweights in men’s shot put, Samardeep Gill and two-time Asian Games champion Tajinderpal Singh Toor, battled for supremacy before the former prevailed over the latter.
Gupta, who will celebrate his 18th birthday in January next, passed a sterner test of winning a medal, a gold, on his debut in the senior national competition. “I was enrolled in the Army via sports quota in August. The gold here in Ranchi has cemented my place in the elite category,” the teenager says after winning gold in the gruelling 20km race walk.
Later in the afternoon session focus was on Gill, a promising Madhya Pradesh thrower and six years younger to two-time Asian Games champion Toor.
After a nervous start, Gill took time to regain his composure and raced to victory with a throw of 19.79m on his last attempt. “I’ve been consistently hitting 20m in training. Need to translate practice throws in competition,” Gill says after claiming the shot put title.
Gill had series of F, 18.78m, 18.92m, 19.36m, 19.14m and 19.79m.
Toor on the other hand says he wasn’t feeling good to push hard today. “I will take a break and start preparation for 2026,” Toor explains after settling for silver with a throw of 19.32m. Toor had a series of 18.82m, F, 18.39m, 19.13m, 18.94m and 19.32m.
Results (Day three)
Men:
Long jump: Mohd Sazid (Haryana) 7.78m, Sarun Payasingh (Odisha) 7.77m, Bhupender Singh (Railway Sports) 7.58m.
High jump: Rohit (Railway Sports) 2.18m, Aadarsh Ram (Railway Sports) 2.18m, Swadhin Kumar Majhi (Odisha) 2.14m.
Shot put: Samardeep Gill (Madhya Pradesh) 19.79m, Tajinderpal Singh Toor (Punjab) 19.32m, Ravi Kumar (All India Police) 18.23m.
Hammer throw: Damneet Singh (Punjab) 68.71m, Ashish Jakhar (SSCB) 66.37m, Mohammad Shahban (SSCB) 65.59m.
20km race walk: Nitin Gupta (SSCB) 1:24:22.98, Paramjeet Singh Bisht (Uttarakhand) 1:25:10.43, Amanjot Singh (SSCB) 1:26:27.14.
4x100m relay: Railway Sports 39.44 seconds, SSCB 39.81 seconds, Odisha 39.89 seconds.
Women
Javelin throw: Deepika (Railway Sports) 54.86m, Karishma Sanil (Haryana) 53.85m, Rashmi K (Haryana) 52.34m.
Pole vault: Baranica Elangovan (Railway Sports) 4.10m, Mariya Jaison (Railway Sports) 4.05m, Krishna Rachan (Railway Sports) 3.90m.
20km race walk: Munita Prajapati (Railway Sports) 1:36:14.34, Kamla (Rajasthan) 1:37:42.12, Sejal Anil Singh (Maharashtra) 1:38:32.88.
4x100m relay: Railway Sports 45.09 seconds, Karnataka 45.66 seconds, Tamil Nadu 45.76 seconds.
ENDS
