Guv, CM congratulate Animesh, Srabani
'Your achievement is a matter of pride and honour for Odisha. Your hard work, indomitable will and passion for sports will inspire the coming generation.
I wish everyone a bright future and further progress,' he said. Congratulating Kujur, Majhi said he has made the entire nation proud with his achievement.
'May he continue to scale new heights in his sporting career. Wishing him all the best for future events,' he said.
The Governor also congratulated Kujur, wishing him success in his sporting career. Leader of the Opposition Naveen Patnaik
said, 'Congratulate #Odisha's star athlete #AnimeshKujur on breaking 200m national record to win bronze medal at 2025 Asian Athletics
Championships in Gumi, South Korea.' 'May he continue to excel and bring laurels for the State and the country. Best wishes,' he added.
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New Indian Express
a day ago
- New Indian Express
TN athletes shatter meet records, Dhanalakshmi marks return with gold
CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu athletes shone bright and ensured a brilliant start to the 64th Senior Inter-State Athletics Championships at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Wednesday. Dhanalakshmi Sekar (women's) and Tamil Arasu (men's) clinched gold in their respective 100-metre finals. Pole vaulters Reegan Ganesh and Gowtham M finished with a shared gold medal in the men's pole vault finals. Dhanalakshmi was banned for three years in 2022 for failing an out-of-competition dope test. She marked her comeback to a national senior level meet with a sensational run in the women's 100-metre final, clocking 11.36s. Young sprinter Abinaya Rajarajan, who is also from Tamil Nadu, finished second with a timing of 11.58 seconds. "I came here to create a meet record here, but I am happy with this and will aim for a better timing in the next meet," Dhanalakshmi told reporters after her run. When asked about the pressure she felt before coming to the start line, she said: "There was nervousness which I felt held me back from running 11.27-11.28 seconds." After a tough three years or so, Dhanalakshmi felt that this event was the right platform for her to prove her doubters wrong. "I was confident that I will prove myself again. I began training last year and kept at it," Dhanalakshmi said. But it was not plain-sailing for her. "I didn't do well in the semifinals (11.7s run). That was a minor deterrent, but it didn't impact my belief to win gold," she said. In the men's final, Arasu made a brilliant start in a tough battle with previous national record holder Manikanta HH, 2022 inter-state 100 metres champion Amlan Borgohain and up-and-coming sprinter Harsh Raut. He felt that the increased standards set by his competitors on track has helped him evolve. "I wished the likes of Gurindervir (Singh) and Animesh (Kujur) had participated, it would have been a tough fight. Running along with the relay teammates like Amlan and Manikanta has helped me improve, too," he said. Arasu was part of the relay team in the Asian Athletics Championships in May this year. Initially a volleyball player, Arasu took up athletics after his coaches' advice in his college days at PSG college of arts, Coimbatore. "I aimed for the national record here but I am proud to have broken the meet record (of Gurindervir 10.27s in 2021) and clinch a gold medal for the state," he said. His next target is to solidify his place in the national relay team when the Indian Open Athletics event commences next month. Pole vaulters Gowtham and Reegan shared the top prize after a tough battle in the final. The gold medal was being shared because of them getting past the marks on their first attempts. (5.15m and 5.20m). Reegan was aiming to jump beyond the 5.40 metre mark while Gowtham was looking to jump beyond 5.25 metres. However, both failed in their respective attempts with both returning with best efforts of 5.20 metres on the day. After consultation with the officials on whether they would like to take another attempt to clear their respective marks, both shook hands for a shared gold medal. Reegan came agonisingly close to clearing the 5.30m mark but he couldn't get a clean landing. "I couldn't keep my legs together in the landing there," Reegan said post his jump. The 24-year-old from Thanjavur district wanted to execute whatever he worked on while training. "I was aiming for the national record of 5.35 metres, but I am happy to settle with the meet record," he added. The previous meet record was held by Tamil Nadu pole vaulter S Siva (5.11 metres). Current national record holder Dev Meena did not take part in this meet owing to personal reasons. Earlier, Abhishek Pal from Uttar Pradesh won the gold in the men's 10,000m final with a timing of 30:56.64s, nowhere near the qualification mark for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. Results (winners): Men's 10,000m: Abhishek Pal 30:56.64s; Men's pole vault: M Gowtham and Reegan G 5.20m (meet record); Women's hammer throw: Tanya Chaudhary 63.91m; Women's triple jump: Sandra Babu 13.20m; Women's 100m: Dhanalakshmi 11.36s; Men's 100m: Tamil Arasu 10.22s (meet record); Women's 5000m: Seema 15:42:64s (meet record).
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Hindustan Times
National Inter-state meet: Top stars chase Worlds berth
New Delhi: The National Inter State Athletics meet starting in Chennai on Wednesday will be the last opportunity for Indian athletes to book their places for the World Championships in Tokyo. The Worlds' cut-off date is August 24, which will be the last day of the five-day domestic meet in Chennai. File image of Animesh Kujur at the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU Games. (HT) There will be a lot of excitement around 200m sprinter Animesh Kujur, who is inside the qualification cut-off through Road to Tokyo rankings (rank 42 out of 48 possible entries) and would be looking to bolster his chances in Chennai towards making his debut at the World Championships. Kujur has attracted eyeballs this season, producing fast timings in a discipline where Indians do not have much of a pedigree. At the Asian Championships in Gumi, he won bronze, shattering the national record (20.32s). Similar buzz will be around seasoned long jumper Murali Sreeshankar, who came close to breaching the Worlds' entry standard of 8.27m at the World Athletics Continental Tour bronze meet in Bhubaneswar just days back. That Sreeshankar has been able to leap beyond 8m just a month into his long comeback from knee surgery has brought the focus back on the long jump pit, which was seeing some ordinary performances in his absence. In javelin, defending world champion and two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra will lead the Indian charge in Tokyo. Sachin Yadav (ranked 22) and Yashvir Singh sit inside the top-36 cut-off as well. Sachin, silver medallist at the Asian Championships with 85.16m, fell just short of the direct entry mark of 85.50m. Though he has not matched that throw in four outings since, his ranking keeps him safe. Rohit Yadav is close to the cut-off and could sneak in with a strong performance in Chennai. In women's javelin, Annu Rani has hit form at the right time. The Asian Games champion threw 62.59m to win in Poland and added 62.01m for gold at the Indian Open in Bhubaneswar. Another solid effort in Chennai would confirm her ticket to Tokyo. Praveen Chithravel's 17.37m jump has given him a direct berth in triple jump for the Worlds, while Commonwealth Games silver medallist Abdulla Aboobacker, who is holding on to 30th spot (top 36 qualify) in rankings, will be eyeing gold in Chennai to enhance his chances. Their presence promises a lively contest. The relay squads have been India's biggest disappointment this season. Neither the men's nor mixed 4x400m teams managed automatic qualification at the World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou. The men's team had clocked a stunning 2:59.05 national record at the 2023 Worlds in Budapest but has struggled since due to poor form and injuries. Fourteen nations qualified in Guangzhou, while Japan and Zambia are ahead on time. India sits 19th with 3:00.58 from the Paris Olympics, but this season's best of 3:03.73 in Gumi makes a sub-3 minute effort look unlikely. Among distance runners, Gulveer Singh is one of the few to qualify outright, breaking the 5000m standard (13:01.00) with his 12:59.77 in Boston, a new national record. He is also close in the 10,000m via rankings, though he will not compete in Chennai. Steeplechaser Parul Chaudhary, already qualified with a national mark of 9:12.46, is also absent. That leaves Ankita Dhyani, just outside the rankings cut-off, to chase her Worlds dream in Chennai. For Indian athletes, the meet will be the last push to turn rankings and form into tickets for Tokyo.
India Today
5 days ago
- India Today
Not just hockey: Inside Odisha's ambitious dream of turning into a sporting powerhouse
By hosting the prestigious World Athletics Continental Tour, Odisha has signalled that it is ready for bigger things. Long celebrated as the powerhouse of Indian hockey hosting, the state is now turning its sights to athletics, with a clear ambition to establish itself as the next multi-sport August 10, as athletes from 17 countries competed in sprints, jumps and throws at Bhubaneswar's Kalinga Stadium, Odisha once again proved that it could not only host world-class events, but do so with polish, professionalism, and a strong sense of why does it matter? It matters because the world is one family. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. As India nurtures its Olympic dream for 2036, the pressing question is: who is ready to carry the weight? While Ahmedabad is projected as the frontrunner, the country may also explore a multi-city model — an approach recently endorsed by the International Olympic Committee. What India needs now is a coordinated national effort — and that is where Odisha comes a long time, India has struggled to live up to the ancient philosophy of collective progress. States have fought over water, forest rights, and resources, often forgetting that we are part of a larger whole. But Odisha, once one of the poorest regions in the country, is charting a new course. From hockey to athletics and beyond, the state is showing what it means to invest in sport not just as infrastructure, but as culture. Courtesy: Odisha Government RISE OF A SPORTING CULTUREThe seeds of this sporting revolution were sown in 2017, when Odisha pulled off a remarkable feat: hosting the Asian Athletics Championships at just 90 days' notice. That one event flipped the script and gave Odisha the belief that they could be a part of something Odisha hosted the Asian Athletics event, they had such short notice. At the time, the state did not even have enough rooms to accommodate the athletes and staff, so Odisha had to call upon the universities to help them out. They knew that they did not have the infrastructure to host the event, but they saw that as an opportunity, and did not back rise in sporting stature is a unique story in itself. Some might call it coincidence, some might call it design, but the truth is a simple one: that Odisha has tried to grab the opportunity whenever one presents for example, hockey. When the sport was at its lowest ebb in terms of popularity, investment, and infrastructure, Odisha took the bold steps of not only sponsoring the Indian national team but also hosting two FIH Hockey World Cups. The Kalinga Stadium and the new Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela were made and are now regarded as two of the best venues in the eyebrows were raised at that time. One state whose priorities should be poverty reduction, why are they getting into these things? Little did people understand at that point of time, that sport is an economy in itself. If you are promoting sport, it is not at the cost of your economic developmental goals. Sports also contribute to the economy,' a department official told India ODISHA'S BOLD VISIONOdisha's latest push into athletics is a continuation of that vision. Under the leadership of newly elected Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, the ambition is clear: Odisha wants to become India's sporting backbone in the run-up to the 2036 Olympics.'Frankly it takes political will to first have a vision and then to pull off a big project,' Majhi told India has recently announced a massive undertaking. A Rs 4,124 crore investment that has never been heard of before in the Indian BJP government under Majhi has declared an ambitious scheme for construction of the stadiums at block are 314 blocks in Odisha. Each block will have one stadium, which will consist of one football ground, one athletic track of 400 meters, two badminton courts, and one indoor a holistic complex. We have finalised lands, we have finalised the procurement processes, and the construction process will start in the next three or four months. It is a five-year scheme,' Majhi said. Odisha is aiming to become India's sporting backbone in the run-up to Olympics 2036 (Courtesy: Kingshuk Kusari/India Today) This project, once it reaches the public, is expected to earn laurels from athletes, who for long have asked for block-level interventions in the sporting landscape of like Manasi Joshi, former world No. 1 in para badminton, have vouched for these facilities that help the masses get access to sport with Odisha government right now understands that it is addressing the three pillars while building a sporting culture:Infrastructure. Coaching. infrastructure is already there, and it is expanding. Kalinga Stadium is perhaps the only sporting complex in India which has an indoor stadium, a practice arena, a main stadium, and a sports science centre, side by the infrastructure sorted, Odisha's next focus is on finding coaches, both local and international, to help out the new crop of players. And that part is expected to feed multiple competitions that Odisha is hosting, at a state, national and international ODISHA SPORTS MODELOdisha's expansion as a sporting ecosystem has not happened overnight. It was done with meticulous planning. Once Odisha decided to shift in this direction, it took a two-pronged multiple officials were sent across the world to find out how the best stadiums were being run, and what it took to build venues like that. The feedback helped them build incredible infrastructure with the help of private entities like Reliance, Tata and ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India, who have picked up one discipline each and are in charge of building that the Sports Science Centre at the Kalinga Stadium for example. Run jointly by the Abhinav Bindra Foundation and the state government, the facility gives world-class recovery options including cryotherapy, dream pods and an anti-gravity treadmill to help athletes make a comeback from is open for all athletes from the country, but they have to take permission from the state government to avail the facilities. The Sports Science Centre at the Kalinga Stadium offers world-class recovery facilities for athletes (Courtesy: Kingshuk Kusari/India Today) The second one was slightly unrelated. Over the course of the last 5 years, Odisha started to heavily invest in tourism to bring up the number of top hotels in the was the logic, you ask?'When you bring in top players from other countries, where will they stay? You need to bring up facilities to accommodate them, something we learnt from the 2017 Asian Athletics Championships,' Sachin Jadhav, the Sports Secretary of Odisha at the end of the day, generates massive indirect development. Jadhav, who is the former director of tourism of the state, says that any one-star hotel sees an investment of about Rs 1 crore. A five-star room generates direct employment of 3 people, and an indirect employment of 10, and that is how sports works. The Sports Science Centre at the Kalinga Stadium is run jointly by the Abhinav Bindra Foundation and Odisha state government (Courtesy: Kingshuk Kusari/India Today) The Rs 4000 crore investment is only an extension of that idea.'Any investment must have a multiplier effect,' said the Odisha CM. 'We've ensured that our spend on sports builds not just athletes, but tourism, jobs, and local identity. From logistics to lighting, from school engagement to crowd management, everything was planned with precision.'RETURN OF INVESTMENTOdisha expects to gain a massive socio-economic dividend from the investment. CM Majhi and the Sports Secretary both state that Rs 4000 crore over a period of 5 years is a small part of the annual budget of the state, which runs in the range of Rs 3 lakh them, the percentage is not daunting at all, in fact, it is quite takes the example of a high-performance centre in Puri, which specialises in Kho Kho players.'In our Puri HPC, the total investment was Rs 52 crore. We built the infrastructure there, and it is maintained by a private entity.''Now our Kho Kho kids have beaten Maharashtra in the nationals. This has brought a wave of enthusiasm in other districts. So now many more kids want to get into the game.'He states that once the kids win a tournament, they get cash prizes, the kind of money their families have never seen before. Further, the kids are given education, which combines with the sporting excellence and gives them an edge in securing government jobs through sports quota, helping them take care of their families.'It is a holistic development. Whoever gets into these sports hostels, they are almost assured of some form of financial security. I believe that this model will be followed in the country sooner or later,' Jadhav government sees these moments as critical for shaping long-term sporting culture. Exposure, aspiration, and access are being built simultaneously — a rare combination in Indian BIGGER PICTURE: WHY ODISHA MATTERSIndia's Olympic ambitions are bold, but they need a solid foundation. As things stand, the country would benefit from multiple cities stepping up to share the responsibility of hosting the Games. If states like Odisha take responsibility for key verticals — like athletics or hockey — and continue building infrastructure, India may just be able to present a decentralised model of Olympic readiness. After all, only in 2020, the Olympics body approved the idea of hosting the Games across cities.'There are 28 states and 8 union territories. If five or six of us take leadership on different sports, India can prepare for the Olympics in a way no one has imagined,' CM Majhi said. 'Odisha is ready to shoulder that responsibility. We've done it before. We will do it again.'In that sense, Odisha isn't just preparing itself. It's preparing hosting international events to lighting up Sunday nights with fireworks, Odisha is rewriting the rulebook on how a state can shape national sports policy. Whether it's hockey, athletics, or grassroots engagement, the state's approach is bold, structured, and deeply a country where sport is often treated as an afterthought, Odisha is treating it like a calling. And as India prepares to knock on the doors of the International Olympic Committee, the rest of the country would do well to watch and learn.- Ends
