Athletics
Inter-State Athletics C'ships Day-4 Highlights: Annu Rani wins javelin gold, Animesh Kujur sets 200m meet record
Catch all the highlights from the penultimate day of the 2025 National Inter-State Athletics Championships in Chennai.
Annu Rani and Animesh Kujur to compete at the penultimate day of the 64th National Inter-State Championships (File photo)
The top Indian athletes fought for the coveted National titles at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, on Saturday.
The Indian national record holders, Annu Rani (Women's Javelin Throw) and Animsh Kujur (Men's 100m ), added another National title to their names with another solid performance in the final.
The crowd also had their eyes on some of the other top athletes like Pooja in 800m, Tajinderpal Singh Toor (Shot Put), and home favourite Dhanalakshmi in women's 200m.
As it happened:
Live Updates
- 23 Aug 2025 2:31 PM GMT
Samardeep Singh wins the men's shot put gold medal with the best put of 19.82m
Samardeep got the better of experienced Tajinderpal Singh Toor to clinch the National title in the men's shot put event with a new personal best throw of 19.82m.
This is the second time he has defeated Tajinderpal this season, after the Federation Cup in April, to book his spot for the Asian Championships.
Medalists:
Gold - Samardeep Singh Gill - 19.82m
Silver - Tajinderpal Singh Toor - 19.41m
Bronze - Aniket - 18.09m
- 23 Aug 2025 2:10 PM GMT
Pooja wins the women's 800m gold medal with a time of 2:02.27s
Unlike the 1500m, she made a late surge to topple the leaders in the 800m final, but still managed to win the gold medal with a rather comfortable margin.
This also pushed her into the available 56 Road to Tokyo Rankings, with an average ranking points of 1998 points.
- 23 Aug 2025 1:30 PM GMT
Animesh Kujur clinched the men's 200m title with a meet record of 20.63s
Animesh bettered his own meet record of 20.65s to clinch the men's 200m title at the Inter-State Championships.
He also bagged 1223 ranking points, which will further push him in the Road to Tokyo Rankings, solidifying his spot for the upcoming World Championships.
Medalists:
Animesh Kujur - 20.63s
Ragul Kumar G - 20..92s
Amlan Borgohain - 21.19s
- 23 Aug 2025 1:18 PM GMT
A double for Dhanalaksmi with a 200m gold medal, clocking a time of 23.53s
After winning the 100m, Dhanalakshmi added another gold to her tally, clocking the third fastest time by an Indian athlete in women's 200m this year.
She is making a comeback this year after serving her three-year doping ban and will be hoping to get back amongst India's best sprinters in the coming years.
Medalists:
Gold - Dhanalakshmi - 23.53s
Silver - Shivani Saini - 24.04s
Bronze - Sakshi Chavan - 24.05s
- 23 Aug 2025 1:06 PM GMT
Sarvesh Kushare clears the 2.24m mark on his first attempt
This will push him into the top 35 of the Road to Tokyo Rankings, and with 36 available spots, it will increase his chances of qualification.
- 23 Aug 2025 12:52 PM GMT
Up Next: - Women's Long Jump at 6:25 PM IST
In the absence of in-form Ancy Sojan, Shaili Singh will be the favourite to win the women's long jump event. But, for the qualification of the World Championships, she might have to do a season-best jump today.
Here is the startlist:
- 23 Aug 2025 12:41 PM GMT
Annu Rani wins the women's javelin throw event with a best of 61.05m
Annu made three 60m+ throws but wasn't able to reach near her personal best; despite that, it should be enough for the national holder to qualify for the Tokyo World Championships.
Medalists:
Gold - Annu Rani - 61.05m
Silver - Deepika - 57.19m - Personal Best
Karishma Sanil - 51.29m
- 23 Aug 2025 12:37 PM GMT
A massive Personal best for Ruchit Mori, clocking 49.76s to win 400m hurdles gold
Ruchit Mori won the gold medal with his first sub-50s time in the 400m hurdles. He also became the second Indian to clock a sub-50s time this year after P. Yashas.
Medalists:
Ruchit Mori - 49.76s
Subhas Das - 50.61s
Hardeep - 51.03s
