CHENNAI: FOR any teenager, bettering the national record thrice in a season can be considered a groundbreaking season. But for 17-year-old Tamil Nadu sprinter Neil Samraj, who earlier had lowered the U18 National Record twice in the matter of minutes, they are of little significance. Despite starting the season with an injury, he managed to lower his mark to 10.46 seconds. But he is aiming to further lower it. "Actually, I am focusing on getting a PB and a new national record. If my day goes well, I'll be going sub 10:4," he had told this daily before his race on Thursday.
On Friday at the National Junior Athletics Championships, he went on to lower the U18 national record for the third time in almost two months. He clocked 10.45s, 0.01s faster than his previous record at the National Youth Athletics meet in Ludhiana in September.
“I always expect more. I haven't gotten it yet, but definitely before this season ends, I will run a sub-10.4,” he said after winning gold in the U18 final. “There are events like the All-India University meet coming up in December. I will further try to lower my mark. Until then, I’m not stopping this season,” he added.
Samraj, who hails from Coimbatore, was delighted to have maintained the same form from September. “As far as athletics goes, you can't maintain your peak in sprints for a long period. Even so, maintaining the same performance for two months is a very big deal. I will definitely put in the effort to run even better than this,” he added.
His coach and former middle-distance runner Velmurugan B felt that he is peaking due to the number of events he has participated so far. “Season-wise, for the athletes we have now, there's no such thing as a ‘season end,’ because they continuously have to keep competing. It's better that way because they keep performing regularly,” he said.
Samraj wants to focus more on the senior events next season. The coach also felt that it was time for him to take the leap. “Age does not matter, potential does. We will try and work our way to the national record,” he declared.
Abinaya shatters meet record
Just before Samraj’s record run, Asian Games medallist Abinaya Rajarajan set the tone for the evening session by clocking 11.49 seconds in the women's U20 100m final – a meet record. In September, she ran 11.31 seconds in the Indian Athletics Final series in New Delhi.
While she may have dominated the field, her aspirations are higher in 2027. "Actually, I never thought I would run 11.3s this season with the injuries I have had. I was hoping to run around the 11.4 -11.5 time marks then. But for next season, I am thinking why not try sub-11 seconds?," she had said before her race.
With that run, Abinaya's decorated junior career came to an end. As she turns 20 next month, she will enter the most important part of her athletics career.