Historic Day Two at 41st National Junior Athletics Championship
The second day of the 41st National Junior Athletics Championship 2026 in Chennai produced a historic haul, with four new records recorded in track and field events.
Saturday's competition at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium saw Ramu of Telangana, Tanu Chaudhary of Uttar Pradesh, Chuki Birda of Rajasthan and Tharnesh C of Tamil Nadu rewrite the record books.
Ramu's run in the men's under-18 400 metres stood out for its sheer quality. He won gold in 46.80 seconds, bettering the national record of 46.99 seconds that Chandan Bauri had set in 2015. The improvement was 0.19 seconds. Ramu also went past the meet record of 47.48 seconds set by Syed Sabir last year.
Tanu Chaudhary claimed the women's under-18 400m title in 53.40 seconds. That time beat the 53.85-second meet record established by Jisna Mathew in 2015.
In the women's under-20 pole vault, Chuki Birda cleared 3.91 metres to take gold. The height surpassed the national record of 3.90 metres set by Vanshika Ghanghas last year. The earlier meet record of 3.80 metres had been set by Karthika V.
In the boys under-16 shot put, Tharnesh C of Tamil Nadu improved on a national mark. His winning throw of 17.86 metres was ahead of the 17.42-metre effort set by Nitesh Kumar in 2024.
Complete day two results
Men's under-20 400m: Vaibhav Bharadwaj (Uttar Pradesh) 47.45 seconds, Raj Chauhan (Maharashtra) 47.64 seconds, Thanish Gaddam (Maharashtra) 47.68 seconds.
Men's under-20 long jump: Jithin RC (Tamil Nadu) 7.64 metres, Ayush Yadav (Delhi) 7.51 metres, Dhanush Raj M (Kerala) 7.50 metres.
Men's under-20 discus throw: Devansh Jagga (Punjab) 55.35 metres, Yashraj Jain (Madhya Pradesh) 54.13 metres, Usman Ali Khan (Madhya Pradesh) 53.74 metres.
Men's under-20 hammer throw: Karthik (Uttar Pradesh) 67.54 metres, Aman (Uttar Pradesh) 67.19 metres, Mohammed Abdulla (Uttar Pradesh) 64.96 metres.
Men's under-20 decathlon: Rahul Jakhar (Gujarat) 7125 points, Abhay Singh (Uttar Pradesh) 6697 points, Aryan Prakash (Madhya Pradesh) 6288 points.
Men's under-18 400m: Ramu (Telangana) 46.80 seconds (national record), Manas Shinde (Maharashtra) 47.24 seconds, Aditya (Haryana) 47.79 seconds.
Men's under-18 javelin throw: Krishna Chandra (Madhya Pradesh) 74.83 metres, Pushpak Nelwade (Karnataka) 73.43 metres, Salauddin (Madhya Pradesh).
Boys under-16 shot put: Tharnesh C (Tamil Nadu) 17.86 metres (national meet), Varadraj Jagtap (Maharashtra) 17.10 metres, Abhishek Kumar (Uttar Pradesh) 17.08 metres.
Boys under-14 triathlon A: Saurav Bind (Uttar Pradesh) 2195 points, Rajveer Gurjar (Rajasthan) 2179 points, Baruno Das (West Bengal) 2137 points.
Women's under-20 400m: Tahura Khatoon (West Bengal) 54.64 seconds, Vanshika Rathi (Uttar Pradesh) 55.08 seconds, Maya (Punjab) 55.11 seconds.
Women's under-20 pole vault: Chuki Birda (Rajasthan) 3.91 metres (national record), Jeena Basil (Kerala) 3.80 metres, Tanishka Dayma (Madhya Pradesh) 3.50 metres.
Women's under-18 400m: Tanu Chaudhary (Uttar Pradesh) 53.40 seconds (meet record), Sahanur Bawa (Punjab) 54.27 seconds, Sahya Jemima (Tamil Nadu) 55.66 seconds.
Girls under-16 shot put: Tejaswini G Rao (Karnataka) 13.48 metres, Hanpreet (Haryana) 13.10 metres, Jayani Patil (Maharashtra) 12.33 metres.
Girls under-14 triathlon A: Meera Bobal (Delhi) 2617 points, Yajini AM (Tamil Nadu) 2503 points, Tamanna (Punjab) 2448 points.