Hoblidhar sprints to 10.19, just 0.01s off national mark
Bhubaneswar: At the 64th National Open Athletics Championships in Ranchi, Manikanta Hoblidhar sprinted to a stunning 10.19 s in the men’s 100 m, setting a new meet record and coming just one-hundredth of a second shy of the Indian national record (10.18 s held by Animesh Kujur).
The 24-year-old, representing the Services, bettered his own previous meet best of 10.23 s (set in 2023 in Bengaluru). He exploded off the start and powered down the straight, raising his arms in triumph as he crossed the line.
In a tight race, Pranav Gurav (Maharashtra) clinched silver in 10.31 s, while Harsh Raut (Services) took bronze with 10.38 s.
On the women’s side, Sneha SS (Karnataka) captured the 100 m title in 11.62 s.
Other highlights from Day 2 included Olympian Rajesh Ramesh’s comeback gold in the men’s 400 m with 45.75 s (a season best) , and Neeru Pathak (Uttar Pradesh) winning the women’s 400 m in 5
2.85 s.
