Pragyan Prasanti Sahu won the first medal for host Odisha with a bronze in womens 100m hurdles at the 65th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships, which commenced at Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar today. She finished third with a time of 13.48 seconds.
Jyothi Yarraji (Andhra Pradesh) and Nandhini K (Tamil Nadu) won the gold and silver medals in womens 100m hurdles, clocking 12.99s and 13.22s respectively. Sabita Toppo (Odisha) finished fourth with 13.78s.
Among other Odisha athletes in action on the opening day, Marymukta Soreng finished sixth in womens triple jump with an effort of 12.73m, while Lasha Ilango (Tamil Nadu) won the gold with a new meet record of 13.89m.
Divya Shandilya (Odisha) secured sixth place in womens hammer throw with a performance of 56.59m. Anushka Yadav (Uttar Pradesh) bagged the gold and created a new National record in this event with a throw of 67.02m.
Around 630 athletes, comprising 342 men and 288 women from 27 States and Union Territories have joined the five-day championship, which is being organised by Sports & Youth Services Department (DSYS), Government of Odisha and Odisha Athletics Association (OAA), under the aegis of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI).
Haryana has sent the largest contingent of 70 athletes, while host Odisha has fielded a 29-member squad. The championship serves as a qualifying competition for the upcoming Asian Games 2026, scheduled to be held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan from September 19 to October 4.
Odisha Sports Minister Suryabanshi Suraj inaugurated the championship in the presence of South Asian Athletics Federation president Lalit Kumar Bhanot, DSYS Secretary Bhupendra Singh Poonia, Director Yeddula Vijay and OAA secretary Avijit Paul.
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PHOTO: Odisha woman hurdler Pragyan Prasanti Sahu poses with her bronze medal at the 65th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar on 24 June 2026.