In Brief
- 21-year-old Kuldeep Kumar cleared 5.30m in the men's pole vault, breaking the previous meet record of 5.15m set by Prashant Kanhaiya in 2022.
- Sprinter Manikanta Hoblidhar staged a successful comeback, recording times of 10.36 seconds in the heats and 10.30 seconds in the 100m semifinals.
- Tamil Nadu's Asha Ilango leaped 13.89m in the women's triple jump, erasing Mayookha Johny's decade-old meet record of 13.78m.
Madhya Pradesh pole vaulter Kuldeep Kumar shattered a four-year-old meet record, while sprinter Manikanta Hoblidhar made an impressive return to action on the opening day of the 65th National Open Athletics Championships at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Wednesday, October 8, 2026.
The 21-year-old Kuldeep secured gold in the men's pole vault by clearing a height of 5.30 meters, eclipsing the previous meet record of 5.15 meters set by Prashant Kanhaiya in Bengaluru in 2022. Kuldeep made three unsuccessful attempts at 5.40 meters after locking in the gold medal. SSCB's Reegan G took silver with a jump of 5.25 meters, while his teammate Rambeer secured bronze at 5.10 meters.
In track events, national record holder Manikanta Hoblidhar made a strong return to competitive sprinting in the men's 100m event. Hoblidhar clocked 10.36 seconds in the preliminary heats before improving to 10.30 seconds in the semifinals to qualify for the final round.
The opening day also saw Tamil Nadu's Asha Ilango produce a breakthrough performance in the women's triple jump, recording a distance of 13.89 meters to break Mayookha Johny's 2015 meet record of 13.78 meters. Long jump specialist Shaili Singh finished third in the event with a leap of 13.31 meters.
In other notable results, Delhi’s Nirbhay Chaudhary won gold in the men’s hammer throw with a effort of 69.42 meters, while Railway’s Giridharani Ravikumar claimed the title of fastest female athlete by winning the women's 100m sprint in 11.48 seconds.
The four-day national athletics championship will continue through October 11, 2026, with finals scheduled across multiple track and field disciplines.
