18-year-old Hammer Thrower Anushka Yadav, Pole Vaulter Dev Meena Qualify For Asian Games 2026

Last Updated:June 24, 2026, 23:02 IST

Anushka Yadav breaks national hammer throw record with 67.02m, becomes youngest Indian record holder, Dev Meena sets new pole vault mark, Jyothi Yarraji wins hurdles gold

Uttar Pradesh’s 18-year-old hammer thrower Anushka Yadav stunned everyone by breaking the national record, while pole vaulter Dev Meena also set a new mark on the opening day of the National Inter-State Championships on Wednesday.

Anushka, from a farmer’s family in Baleni village of Baghpat, recorded a throw of 67.02m at Kalinga Stadium, surpassing the previous national record of 65.25m set by Sarita Singh in 2017. She is now the youngest national record holder in Indian athletics.

Her previous best was 62.89m, and she improved significantly, even breaking the record twice in six attempts. She crossed the old mark with 65.64m in her second throw and saved her best for last with 67.02m. Her opening throw of 62.07m was also above the Asian Games qualifying mark.

Anushka revealed that she initially wanted to run sprints before switching to hammer throw on her father’s advice.

“My father makes me play hammer. I have three personal coaches, including my father and Chirag Yadav. I trained at my local ground," Anushka was quoted as saying by PTI. “I want to throw 70m plus and win gold in the Asian Games."

She also spoke about recovering from a ligament injury earlier this year.

“It happened in March when I tried to fix a problem in our tractor at our piece of land at home. My brother and father were also there at that time. Luckily, I recovered soon enough."

In pole vault, Dev Meena cleared 5.46m to break the national record. Meanwhile, hurdler Jyothi Yarraji made a strong comeback after injury, clocking 12.99 seconds to win gold.

“I was expecting better timing, but I felt so good. Exactly this day last year, I got injured. The same day, I came back to track, and I showed up by myself. It means a lot to me," he said.

“I’m feeling good, comfortable. Not feeling nervous, though I’m doing a competition after one year. I don’t know how physically strong I am. But mentally, I’m 10 times better than before. So this is what makes me."

“That also came to my mind. But I kept telling myself that it’s okay, Jyoti. You have proved yourself. There are three months to the Asian Games. I will take care of my knee, and I want to win gold there," Meena concluded.

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Aakash Biswas

A cricket enthusiast whose dreams of playing for India paved the way for a compelling journey in journalism. With a comprehensive coverage spanning international and domestic cricket across formats, I...Read More

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