BHUBANESWAR: The hot and humid conditions have turned the Senior Inter-State National Athletics competition into a tough test for both human endurance and their ability to adapt. On Friday, beating the the conditions, national record holder in 110m hurdles, Tejas Shirse blazed to 13.61s in the final at the Kalinga Stadium here.
Shirse smoothly sailed over each hurdle to complete his dominance after a blistering 13.23s in the heats. The mark also made him eligible to compete at the Asian Games (qualifying mark: 10.63s) in September-October this year. The silver and bronze medals were won by Manav R of Tamil Nadu and Krishik M of Karnataka with 13.66 and 13.69s respectively.
Competing at the Indian Athletics Series 9, the 24-year-old Maharashtra hurdler clocked a sensational 13.27s, improving on his previous best of 13.41s set in 2024. Shirse played down the conditions saying the it is same for every athlete here. He has now set target on a podium finish at the Games. “The weather condition is same for all the athletes which I can not change," he said after the win. "The qualification mark had been one of the key targets for me. I did it, so never mind the climate. Prior to the Asian Games I will work out on my techniques and produce a better timing to make a podium finish at Japan."
In women's discuss, there was some cheer for Seema who has been throwing well this season. Though well off the national record of 66.59m, she managed a distance of 59.73m. Sanya Yadav won silver while Nidhi won bronze.
Local flavour
Defending champion Odisha's men’s 4x100 relay team won another gold, clocking 39.92s. Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra finished second and third with timing of 40.02s and 40.37s respectively. Sarun Payasingh gave a good start while Lalu Prasad Bhoi, Jayram and Amiya Kumar Mallick kept the pace to finish with gold. For a state that did not have a team until 2022, dominating the relay since 2023 has been a successful story.
“A decade ago, I was the only men's 100m sprinter in my state who used to take part in national and international events," said Amiya Mallick. "In the last five to six years Odisha produced many promising young sprinters, that is the reason our state relay team always managed to clinch the top spot. Today the timing could have been better, as the baton exchange between Jayram and Lalu was a bit delayed."