National Junior Athletics: Tamil Nadu Wins Title as Dharanidharan Throws 76.18m

Tamil Nadu ended the 41st National Junior Athletics Championships on a high, retaining the overall team title after five days of competition at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai. The hosts finished with 317.2 points, ahead of Haryana’s 303 points, while Uttar Pradesh secured third place with 230.5 points.

One of the standout performances came from T. Dharanidharan, who won the men’s Under-20 javelin throw with a personal-best effort of 76.18 metres. The Tamil Nadu athlete delivered a strong series to secure gold and underline his growing reputation as one of India’s promising junior javelin throwers.

Dharanidharan Leads the Javelin Field with 76.18m

Dharanidharan produced an impressive performance in the men’s Under-20 javelin final on the championship’s closing day. His opening throw of 75.34m had already surpassed his previous personal best of 73.42m. He improved further with his second attempt, reaching 76.18m, before recording another strong throw of 75.27m.

Uttar Pradesh’s Rajat Kumar finished second with 72.44m, while Mangal Singh of Chandigarh claimed bronze with 71.21m. Dharanidharan won by a margin of 3.74 metres over the silver medallist.

The victory capped a significant season for the young thrower. He had earlier finished sixth in the men’s javelin at the World Under-20 Athletics Championships, gaining valuable experience against international competition. His latest result in Chennai marked another step forward as he continues to target bigger distances.

Tamil Nadu Retains Overall Championship

Tamil Nadu’s success extended beyond the javelin field. The home team finished the championships with 19 gold, 12 silver and 15 bronze medals, securing the overall title across the Under-14, Under-16, Under-18 and Under-20 categories.

Haryana finished second in the overall team standings with 303 points, while Uttar Pradesh took third place with 230.5 points. Tamil Nadu also benefited from several strong performances on the final day, including victories in both the men’s and women’s Under-20 4x400m relay events.

The women’s relay team clocked 3:47.43, while the men’s team finished in 3:10.67. These results helped the hosts close their campaign with further gold medals and consolidate their position at the top of the standings.

Neil Samraj Breaks the Under-18 200m National Record

Tamil Nadu’s Neil Samraj R delivered another major highlight in the men’s Under-18 200m final. He won the race in 21.03 seconds, breaking the previous national record of 21.08 seconds, set by Abhay Singh in 2023.

Neil had already set a national record in the Under-18 100m earlier in the championships, clocking 10.45 seconds. His performances across both sprint events made him one of the leading athletes of the competition.

The championships also saw strong results from other competitors. Bhavana G of Tamil Nadu won the women’s Under-20 200m in 23.82 seconds, setting a meet record. Sadhana Ravi claimed the women’s Under-20 triple jump title with 13.22m.

A Strong Finish to Five Days of Competition

The 41st National Junior Athletics Championships, held from October 23 to 27, brought together emerging athletes from across India in track and field events. The competition provided a platform for young athletes to test themselves against the country’s leading junior performers.

For Tamil Nadu, the overall title reflected the strength of its athletes across age groups and disciplines. For Dharanidharan, the 76.18m throw was a defining moment in a season of progress, while Neil Samraj’s double national-record performance added another major achievement to the host state’s campaign.

With the championships concluded, the performances in Chennai offered an encouraging glimpse of the next generation of Indian athletics talent.