Ludhiana, September 1, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Tamil Nadu sprinter Neil Samraj produced a record-breaking performance at the National Youth Athletics Championships, winning gold in the Under-18 boys’ 100m and setting new national and meet records at Guru Nanak Stadium in Ludhiana on Tuesday.
The 17-year-old clocked a career-best 10.46 seconds, comfortably finishing ahead of West Bengal’s Mehebubul Ahamed (10.74s) and Delhi’s Pushpendar Kumar (10.81s).
Samraj’s time bettered the previous national record of 10.63 seconds set by Anshu Rajak in Coimbatore in 2023. He also erased the meet record of 10.68 seconds established by Parth Singh in Bilaspur in 2024.
Tamil Nadu sprinters dominated the 100m events on the opening day of the three-day Under-18 competition, with T Mrithika also setting a new meet record in the women’s event.
Mrithika clinched the women’s 100m gold in 11.78 seconds, improving on the previous meet record of 11.80 seconds set by Dutee Chand in Bengaluru in 2012. She was the only finalist to break the 12-second barrier.
Karnataka’s Suchithra S won silver in 12.03 seconds, while Maharashtra’s Saawari Kulkarni took bronze in 12.09 seconds.
The championships, which conclude on September 3, feature Under-18 boys’ and girls’ events across sprints, middle-distance races, hurdles, race walks, jumps, throws, heptathlon and medley relays.
The automatic qualification standards include 7.00m in men’s long jump, 1.95m in high jump, 16.70m in shot put, 50.50m in discus and 63.00m in javelin. The women’s Under-18 long jump qualification standard is 5.40m.
In the women’s discus throw, Haryana’s Oshin won with a best effort of 45.98m, followed by Uttar Pradesh’s Dimpy Saini (43.22m) and Haryana’s Mansi Dangi (43.09m).
FOLLOW NOW
