Maharashtra’s Aishwarya Mishra broke her own women’s 400m National Games record (clocking 51.12s) while winning the gold at the 38th National Games in Dehradun on Sunday, 09 February 2025.
| Photo Credit: RITU RAJ KONWAR
What a shocker!
Quartermiler Aishwarya Mishra has thrown up many surprises in the past. She has skipped meets and then popped up with some very fast times, but on Sunday she produced a season-opening stunner that virtually knocked out everybody watching her in the 38th National Games athletics competition at the Ganga Stadium here.
The 24-year-old from Maharashtra clocked a personal best 51.12s — the fourth-fastest Indian time ever — while winning the 400m gold by a huge margin and breaking her own three-year-old National Games record by more than one second. Vithya Ramraj, the defending champion, was more than three seconds behind for the silver.
Tejas Ashok Shirse (408) of Maharashtra won the men’s 110m hurdles gold with a Games record at the 38th National Games in Dehradun on Sunday, 09 February 2025.
| Photo Credit:
RITU RAJ KONWAR
“I couldn’t believe that I have run a personal best, I really thought it would be something like 52s. I was like in a trance for five to 10 minutes,” Aishwarya, the Asian silver medallist, told The Hindu.
“It felt like I was running 300m, not in 400. I’m very happy about that.”
Nobody, not even National record-holder Hima Das (record 50.79s, Jakarta Asian Games 2018) has started the season like this.
Bapi Hansda of Odisha won men’s 400m gold at the 38th National Games in Dehradun on Sunday, 09 February 2025.
| Photo Credit:
RITU RAJ KONWAR
Are there bigger things coming as the season gets into full swing?
“I’m hoping to break the National record if everything goes well,” said Aishwarya whose previous best (51.18) came in April 2022.
Aishwarya said she had been training at Dehradun for the last 20 days.
Meanwhile, Odisha’s Bapi Hansda bettered his personal best while winning the men’s 400m, while Maharashtra’s Tejas Shirse and Andhra Pradesh’s Asian champion Jyothi Yarraji broke their own Games records while taking the men’s and women’s sprint hurdles gold.
Andhra Pradesh’s Jyothi Yarraji (106) broke her own women’s 100m hurdles record on her way to gold at the 38th National Games in Dehradun on Sunday, 09 February 2025.
| Photo Credit:
RITU RAJ KONWAR
“Not really happy, I was expecting 12.7 or 12.8…I’m in good shape, but sometimes things don’t work out the way we want. But I’m glad I competed here,” said Jyothi.
The results: Men: 400m: 1. Bapi Hansda (Odi) 46.82s, 2. Vikrant Panchal (Har) 46.92, 3. T.S. Manu (Ker) 47.08. 110m hurdles: 1. Tejas Shirse (Mah) 13.65s MR, OR own 13.71, 2015; 2. Manav Rajanarayanan (TN) 14.03, 3. Muhammed Lazan (Ker) 14.23. High jump: 1. Aadarsh Ram (TN) 2.14m, 2. Swadhin Kumar (Odi) 2.11, 3. Sudeep (Kar) 2.08. 4x100m relay: 1. Odisha (39.47s MR, OR 39.94, 2011), 2. Tamil Nadu (40.08), 3. Kerala (40.73). Decathlon: 1. N. Thowfeeq (Ker) 6915 pts, 2. Yamandeep Sharma (Raj) 6831, 3. Rohit Roman (AP) 6753.
Minutes after taking the women’s 100m hurdles silver, West Bengal’s Moumita Mondal went on to win the long jump gold at the 38th National Games in Dehradun on Sunday, 09 February 2025.
| Photo Credit:
RITU RAJ KONWAR
Women: 400m: 1. Aishwarya Mishra (Mah) 51.12s MR, OR own 52.20; 2. Vithya Ramraj (TN) 54.43, 3. Devyaniba Zala (Guj) 54.44. 100m hurdles: 1. Jyothi Yarraji (AP) 13.10s MR, OR own 13.22 2023; 2. Moumita Mondal (WB) 13.36, 3. Nithya Ramraj (TN) 13.60. Long jump: 1. Moumita Mondal (WB) 6.21m, 2. Sandra Babu (Ker) 6.12, 3. Deepanshi Singh (UP) 6.11. Javelin throw: 1. Jyoti Rakesh (Har) 55.55m, 2. Karishma Sanil (Kar) 55.55, 3. Ramyashree Jain (Kar) 54.85. 4x100m relay: 1. Karnataka (45.99s), 2. Kerala (4.04), 3. Telangana (47.58).
Published – February 09, 2025 07:34 pm IST