Neil Samraj sets youth national and meet record in 100m at National Youth Athletics C’ships

Ludhiana, Sep 1 (IANS) In a stunning display, Neil Samraj won the gold in the U18 Boys 100m event at the National Youth Athletics Championships, setting a new meet and national record with a time of 10.46s in Ludhiana, Punjab, on Tuesday.

The 17-year-old Neil from Tamil Nadu was well ahead of his competitors in a career-best display that marks him out as one of India’s most exciting sprinters.

Neil Samraj’s winning time of 10.46 seconds was better than the previous national record of 10.63 seconds set by Anshu Rajak in 2023 in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. The meet record of 10.68 seconds was in the name of Parth Singh, set in 2024 in Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh.

The spotlight was on Tamil Nadu sprinters as they shattered 100m meet records in the men’s and women’s sections, respectively, at the Guru Nanak Stadium on the opening day of the three-day U18 competition, which will conclude on Thursday (September 3).

Tamil Nadu’s T Mrithika raised her hands in jubilation as she crossed the women’s 100m finish line. On her way to the gold medal, she clocked 11.78 seconds, bettering the previous meet record of 11.80 seconds set by Dutee Chand in 2012 in Bengaluru.

Mrithika was the only sprinter in the final to break the 12-second barrier. Suchithra S of Karnataka edged past Saawari Kulkarni (Maharashtra) to win silver with a time of 12.03 seconds. Saawari clocked 12.09 seconds for bronze.

Competitions are being staged across forenoon and afternoon sessions in the three-day event, featuring Youth Men and Youth Women Under-18 events spanning the sprints, middle distance, hurdles, race walks, jumps, throws, the heptathlon and the medley relays.

The automatic qualification standards are: Long Jump 7.00m, High Jump 1.95m, Shot Put 16.70m, Discus Throw 50.50m and Javelin Throw 63.00m for Youth Men Under-18, and Long Jump 5.40m for Youth Women Under-18.

Results:

Men:

100m: Neil Samraj R (Tamil Nadu) 10.46 seconds (NR previous best 10.63 secs), Mehebubul Ahamed (West Bengal) 10.74 seconds, Pushpendar Kumar (Delhi) 10.81 seconds.

Women

100m: T Mrithika (Tamil Nadu) 11.78 seconds (NMR previous best 11.80 seconds), Suchithra S (Karnataka) 12.03 seconds, Saawari Kulkarni (Maharashtra) 12.09 seconds.

Discus throw: Oshin (Haryana) 45.98m, Dimpy Saini (Uttar Pradesh) 43.22m, Mansi Dangi (Haryana) 43.09m.

–IANS

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