Inter State C’ships: Animesh Kujur leads India’s Asiad qualification charge on Day 2

India’s athletics contingent for the 2026 Asian Games continued to swell on Thursday as a string of standout performances at the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships saw athletes across track and field achieve the Athletics Federation of India’s qualification standards.

Leading the charge was Home favorite Animesh Kujurwho produced another commanding display in the men’s 200m. After dipping below the qualifying mark in the heats with 20.87 seconds, the national record holder returned to clock 20.74s in the final to comfortably win gold. Odisha teammate Dondapati Mrutyum Jayaram (20.97s) finished second, while Kerala’s Jishnu Prasad PK (21.18s) claimed bronze.

RECORDS TUMBLE

The day’s biggest statement, however, came in the women’s pole vault. Karnataka’s Sindhushree G cleared 4.25m to break the national record and comfortably qualify for Aichi-Nagoya. The previous record holder, Baranica Elangovan, was not far behind with a 4.20m effort, while Nitika Akare made it three qualifiers in the event by clearing 4.10m.

The women’s 200m followed a similar pattern, with Harita Bhadra (23.14s), Unnathi Bollanda (23.40s) and Prakruthi Roopa Rao B (23.58s) all finishing inside the qualification mark in an impressive sprint final.

DEPTH EMERGES

Indian middle-distance running also enjoyed a productive evening. Gowthami Jayaraman, Pooja and Lili Das all went under the women’s 800m qualification standard, while Mohammed Afsal P emerged as the lone qualifier in the men’s final after winning gold in 1:48.57.

There was more success in the field as Manpreet Kaur won the women’s shot put with 17.75m, ahead of Krishna Jayasankar and Srishti Vig, both of whom also surpassed the qualifying mark.

National record holder Tejas Shirse kept up his rich vein of form by clocking 13.43 seconds in the men’s 110m hurdles heats to seal qualification, while Kerala’s Thowfeeq N (7,276 points) and Maharashtra’s Kushal Mohite (7,251) crossed the Asian Games benchmark in the decathlon.

With the championships entering the business end, the race for places in India’s athletics squad is gathering momentum. While meeting the qualification standards strengthens an athlete’s case, it must be noted that the final squad for the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games will be selected at the discretion of the AFI.

– Ends