Tamil Nadu Retain National Junior Athletics Title as Neil Samraj Breaks 200m Record

Tamil Nadu retained the overall title at the 41st National Junior Athletics Championships in Chennai on Tuesday, finishing the five-day competition with 19 gold, 12 silver and 13 bronze medals. Haryana finished second with 40 medals, while Karnataka secured third place with 25.

The hosts strengthened their position on the final day at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, with victories from T. Dharanidharan in the men’s Under-20 javelin throw, Sadhana Ravi in the women’s U-20 triple jump and Bhavana G. in the women’s U-20 200m. Tamil Nadu then completed its campaign by winning both the men’s and women’s U-20 4x400m relay finals.

The championships also produced a national record in the boys’ U-18 200m, where Tamil Nadu’s Neil Samraj continued an impressive week by adding another record-breaking performance to his collection.

Neil won the men’s U-18 200m in 21.03 seconds, improving on the national record of 21.08 set by Abhay Singh in 2023. It was his second national record and gold medal of the championships, following his 10.45-second performance in the 100m.

Telangana’s Lodenge Ramu finished second in the 200m in 21.36 seconds, while Maharashtra’s Manas Shinde took bronze in 21.48.

Despite his record-breaking performance, Neil said the 200m was not his primary event. The sprinter believes more focused preparation for the longer sprint could help him break the 21-second barrier.

Neil also revealed that he had missed out on selection for the 2026 Youth Olympics, saying the limited places available to each country had gone to athletes considered stronger medal prospects. His performances in Chennai nevertheless underlined his potential across both sprint distances.

Tamil Nadu’s Bhavana G. delivered one of the standout performances in the women’s U-20 200m, breaking the meet record twice on her way to gold. Bhavana clocked 23.93 seconds in the semifinal before improving to 23.82 in the final. Both performances were faster than the previous meet record of 24.05 seconds.

Gujarat’s Kajal Vaja finished second in 24.10 seconds, while Haryana’s Nancy claimed bronze in 24.26. Bhavana’s performance provided another significant contribution to Tamil Nadu’s title defence, with the host contingent continuing to collect gold medals in the closing stages of the competition.

Sadhana Ravi Completes Jumping Double

Sadhana Ravi added the women’s U-20 triple jump title to her earlier long jump victory, completing a jumping double at the championships. She produced a personal best of 13.22m to win the triple jump, improving on the 13.08m mark she had recorded before the competition. Tamil Nadu teammate P. Shrihanisha secured silver with 12.28m, while Gujarat’s Hemanshi finished third with 12.15m.

Romanian coach Bedros Bedrosian, the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu’s high-performance coach, praised the depth of the state’s jumps group and highlighted the significance of Tamil Nadu athletes finishing first and second.

Bedrosian believes Sadhana has the potential to progress further but emphasised the importance of managing her development carefully. He cautioned that placing excessive demands on an 18-year-old athlete could increase the risk of injury. His comments highlighted the balance between pursuing immediate results and ensuring that promising young athletes continue to develop without compromising their long-term prospects.

T. Dharanidharan produced the strongest performance of his career in the men’s U-20 javelin final, recording a winning throw of 76.18m. His first attempt of 75.34m had already surpassed his previous personal best of 73.42m, set in June. He improved further with his second throw, establishing a lead that none of his competitors could overcome. He followed with 75.27m on his third attempt before fouling his remaining three throws.

Uttar Pradesh’s Rajat Kumar won silver with 72.44m, while Chandigarh’s Mangal Singh took bronze with 71.21m. Five competitors crossed the 70m mark, but Dharanidharan finished 3.74m ahead of the runner-up. The result marked another step forward in a season of steady improvement. After winning the U-20 event at an Indian Athletics Series meeting in Chennai with 69.48m in May, he raised his personal best to 73.42m in Ludhiana in June.

He subsequently qualified for the World U-20 Championships final in Eugene in August, finishing sixth with 72.35m after entering the final as the 12th qualifier. Fellow Indian Ashish Yadav won silver at that competition.

Dharanidharan’s 76.18 m effort in Chennai was his first throw beyond 75 m and represented a 2.76 m improvement on his previous personal best.

Tamil Nadu ended the championships by winning the final two events, taking the women’s U-20 4x400m relay in 3:47.43 and the men’s race in 3:10.67. Neither team broke the respective national records of 3:34.18 in the women’s event and 3:05.54 in the men’s event. However, the double victory ensured that the hosts finished their campaign on a high.

With record-breaking sprint performances, a personal best beyond 76m in the javelin and a double gold for Sadhana Ravi, Tamil Nadu’s final-day results reinforced its position at the top of the national junior athletics standings.

The state’s 19 gold medals secured the overall title, while Haryana and Karnataka completed the top three. Beyond the team standings, the performances of Neil, Bhavana, Sadhana and Dharanidharan offered several individual highlights from a championship that showcased emerging talent across Indian athletics.