Asian Games-bound Tanya Chaudhary smashes national hammer throw record

New Delhi: Tanya Chaudhary stole the show in a star-studded Indian athletics lineup here at the JLN Stadium on Thursday night, unleashing a thunderous new national record in the women’s hammer throw at the Indian Athletics Series Final.

The young powerhouse launched a massive 68.35m throw on her fifth attempt, smashing the previous national mark of 67.02m set by her training partner Anushka Yadav at the Inter-State Championships in Bhubaneswar earlier this year.

A force on the circuit

“It feels fantastic to smash the national record. And it feels even better because Anushka and I come from the same training ground and it keeps pushing both of us to improve,” Tanya said, when speaking with reporters after rewriting the record books.

Tanya produced two throws beyond 65m before her sensational 68.35m effort, improving her personal best by more than four metres.

Anushka meanwhile finished a strong second with a best of 66.34m.

The two young hammer throwers train together in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh, and have become a force on the domestic circuit, regularly sharing the podium and driving each other to new levels.

“I had been chasing the national record for three years, and when Anushka broke the record, I got a new target, and we started working on my weaknesses," said Tanya.

Despite finishing second best on the night, Anushka reflected on the positives: “It’s actually good that my record has been broken. Only when a new mark is set do we feel the real push to go further. If the record just sits there, what’s the point?”

'Three injuries at once'

Battling a string of injuries, Tanya has had a muted start to the season, managing just four meet-appearances before the Athletics Series Final.

"I had three injuries at once. There was a Baker’s cyst in the knee, a stress injury in the femur bone, and problems with the ACL as well," Tanya revealed.

“The injury had been there since January, but we didn’t take it seriously at first. It got worse, so we did an MRI in April. Then my coach Sachin Yadav and I focused on recovery and worked on my weaknesses during a few weeks of rest,” she added.

She came agonisingly close to attaining the Asian Games quota, falling short of the AFI standard of 61.72m by a mere two centimeters at the Inter-State Championships.

Thankfully, the AFI selected her based on her earlier performances, and now this latest national record has given her a massive confidence boost ahead of the continental showpiece.

“My target at the Asian Games is to keep improving. My personal best has already jumped, and even the 70-metre mark doesn’t feel that far away now,” she said.

“I had aimed to hit 70 metres this year, but the injuries delayed it. Now that I’m finding my momentum again, I’m confident I’ll achieve that target soon,” she added.

The 23-year-old will now head to Aichi-Nagoya for the Asian Games, where she will face elite hammer throwers from China and Japan and once again lock horns with her training partner Anushka.

With a healthy young rivalry now in full swing, Indian women’s hammer throw looks set to scale new heights in the coming years, with the national record poised for further revision.