Eugene, August 7, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
India’s Mohammed Ashfaq broke his own national U20 record to book a place in the men’s 400m final at the World Athletics U20 Championships 2026.
The 19-year-old clocked 45.81 seconds to finish second in Heat 5, bettering his previous national record of 46.05 seconds set at the U20 Federation Cup in Bengaluru in April.
Ashfaq followed that performance with a 46.00-second run in Semifinal Heat 3, finishing third to secure his place in the final.
His compatriot Piyush Raj, however, failed to advance after finishing fifth in Heat 6 with a timing of 47.78 seconds.
In the men’s high jump, Basant qualified for the final after clearing 2.14m to finish fifth in Qualification Group A. K. Ambriesh, who managed a best jump of 2.05m, finished 12th in Group B and missed out on qualification. Interestingly, none of the athletes in either qualification group cleared the automatic qualifying mark of 2.21m.
India’s Anshu narrowly missed the women’s shot put final. Her best effort of 15.24m left her 21cm short of the qualifying mark, leaving her ninth in Group A and 14th overall.
Tanu Chaudhary also failed to progress in the women’s 400m hurdles after finishing fifth in her heat in 1:00.03.
In the men’s 400m hurdles, Amit Kumar finished last in his heat with a time of 54.01 seconds.
India also missed out on the men’s triple jump final, with Dhanush Raj and P. Royshan recording best efforts of 14.71m and 15.20m, respectively.
Meanwhile, Amanat Kamboj finished sixth in the women’s discus throw final, registering a personal best of 53.24m.
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