National Junior Athletics Championship: Javelin thrower Dharanidharan betters PB; Tamil Nadu takes overall title

Dharanidharan managed a distance of 76.18m with his first throw as the host State ended with 19 gold, 12 silver and 13 bronze. Haryana and Karnataka finished in second and third places, respectively.

Updated : Oct 27, 2026 22:33 IST , CHENNAI - 4 MINS READ

T. Dharanidharan’s winning throw was 3.74m clear of the second best athlete in the Under-20 final. | Photo Credit: Siva Sankar A.

Tamil Nadu retained the overall title at the 41st National Junior Athletics Championships in Chennai on Tuesday, finishing with 19 gold, 12 silver and 13 bronze medals. Haryana was second with 40 medals and Karnataka third with 25.

The host State added to its tally on the final day through T. Dharanidharan in the men’s Under-20 javelin, Sadhana Ravi in the women’s U-20 triple jump and two wins over 200m. Its men’s and women’s U-20 4x400m teams then won the last two finals at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

Sadhana, who had won the long jump earlier in the meet, completed a jumping double with a personal best of 13.22m in the triple jump. She improved on the 13.08m she had brought into the competition. Tamil Nadu’s P. Shrihanisha took silver with 12.28m, while Gujarat’s Hemanshi was third with 12.15m.

Romanian Bedros Bedrosian, the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu’s (SDAT) high-performance coach, sees strength in the state’s jumps group. “There are a lot of talented athletes in Tamil Nadu,” he said, pointing to the first two places in the triple jump. Bedrosian believes Sadhana can go farther but said her progress should be managed carefully. Pushing an 18-year-old too hard, he cautioned, could increase the risk of injury.

Sadhana Ravi with the SDAT coach Bedros Bedrosian. | Photo Credit: Siva Sankar A.

Neil Samraj won the Under-18 boys’ 200m in 21.03 seconds, lowering the National Record (NR) of 21.08 set by Abhay Singh in 2023. It was his second NR and gold of the championships, following his 10.45 in the 100m. Telangana’s Lodenge Ramu was second in 21.36 and Maharashtra’s Manas Shinde third in 21.48.

“Actually, 100m is my main event. I don’t concentrate much on 200m. I tried just to see where I stand, and I managed a new NR,” Neil said. He felt more focussed work on the longer sprint could take him below 21 seconds.

Neil said the limited places available to each country for the 2026 Youth Olympics had gone to athletes considered stronger medal prospects, leaving him out despite his wins.

In the women’s U-20 200m, Tamil Nadu’s Bhavana G. lowered the Meet Record twice on her way to gold. She ran 23.93 in the semifinal and 23.82 in the final, ahead of Gujarat’s Kajal Vaja (24.10) and Haryana’s Nancy (24.26). Both times improved on the previous meet record of 24.05.

Tamil Nadu’s Neil Samraj clocked a lifetime best of 21.03 seconds to set the Under-18 men’s 200m National Record. | Photo Credit: Siva Sankar A.

Tamil Nadu closed the five-day meet by taking the women’s U-20 4x400m in 3:47.43 and the men’s race in 3:10.67. The U-20 NR for the events stand at 3:34.18 for women and 3:05.54 for men; neither mark was broken on Tuesday.

Dharanidharan moves past 76m

Dharanidharan made his intentions clear with his first throw in the men’s U-20 final. His 75.34m was already beyond the 73.42m personal best he had set in June. He went farther on the second attempt, reaching 76.18m, a mark none of the other throwers matched.

The Tamil Nadu athlete followed it with 75.27m on the third throw and then fouled his remaining three attempts. Uttar Pradesh’s Rajat Kumar took silver with 72.44m, while Chandigarh’s Mangal Singh reached 71.21m for bronze. Five competitors crossed 70m, but the lead Dharanidharan established early on held throughout. His winning throw improved his previous best by 2.76m and put him 3.74m ahead of the runner-up.

His season had already taken him from this stadium to a world final. Dharanidharan won the U-20 event at the Indian Athletics Series meeting in Chennai in May with 69.48m, before raising his best to 73.42m at another series meeting in Ludhiana in June. In August, he qualified for the World U-20 Championships final in Eugene with 68.07m, taking the last of the 12 places. He then threw 72.35m to finish sixth, while fellow Indian Ashish Yadav won silver.

Tuesday’s result was his first throw beyond 75m. He placed fifth with 72.04m at the National Junior Federation competition in April, before the wins that followed over the summer.