Rohit Yadav's meet record, Murali Sreeshankar’s 8. 38m light up Inter-State finale

Bhubaneswar: Just when it seemed that the 65th National Inter-State Athletics Championships would end on a subdued note, men’s javelin thrower Rohit Yadav and long jumpers Murali Sreeshankar and Shahnawaz Khan lit up the Kalinga Stadium here on Sunday.With both events unfolding simultaneously, Rohit produced a massive 87. 05m throw in his final attempt to not only clinch gold and qualify for Asian Games but also set a new meet record. The effort is the best by an Indian this year and currently ranks as the second-best throw in the world in 2026, behind only Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage, who hurled the javelin 92. 62m at the Diamond League in Rome earlier this month.

Nearby, Sreeshankar, whose first three jumps measured 8. 06m, 8. 00m and 8. 21m, stunned the crowd when he leaped 8. 38m. It was not only the second-best jump of his career but, more importantly, his best since suffering a career-threatening injury in 2024.However, Shahnawaz gave him a run for his money.After struggling in his first four attempts, the youngster produced a massive leap in the fifth round. But he could not surpass Sreeshankar as the electronic scoreboard flashed 8.

30m. The mark was just 0. 01m short of the Asian U20 record of 8. 31m held by China’s Shi Yuhao.Sreeshankar, though, continued his impressive run and followed up with an 8. 26m effort in the fifth round. Both athletes fouled their final attempts, but the duo looks set for bigger achievements in the events ahead.Speaking after the competition, Sreeshankar was delighted with the overall competition as David P finished third with a best leap of 8.

06m.“Over the last two months, four Indian long jumpers have gone beyond 8. 20m in a single season. That really shows the depth we have in Indian long jump right now, and I’m happy to have contributed to it,” said Sreeshankar.“Shahnawaz and I train together, and we have jump sessions almost every day. There's always a healthy competition between us, and that pushes both of us to perform better. You probably saw him shouting and cheering during the competition.

That’s the kind of energy we bring to training as well, and it helps us keep raising our level.”Meanwhile, Rohit could not have been more pleased after finally crossing the 85m mark in competition.“Today’s performance was a big boost to my confidence ahead of the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games,” said the 25-year-old.“I’ve been throwing 86m and 87m in training, but I couldn’t translate those distances into competitions.

It was hurting me badly. I’m happy to have finally set a new benchmark in competition.”As for the second and third place, it went to Yashvir Singh (83. 72m) and Sachin Yadav (82. 32m) respectively.Among the other major results, Vishal TK won the men’s 400m but could not better his national record. Haryana’s Pooja also lived up to expectations by winning gold in the women's high jump with a clearance of 1. 83m.Meanwhile, Sreeshankar and Ancy Sojan were named the best male and female athletes of the meet. Uttar Pradesh won the men's team trophy with 71 points, while Haryana claimed the women’s title with 82 points. Tamil Nadu walked away with the overall team championship with 138 points.