Bhubaneswar: Odisha bagged seven medals – 3 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze — in the 22nd National Junior (U-20) Federation Athletics Championship which concluded at Lucknow’s SAI Regional Centre on March 10.
Sprinter Dondapati Jayaram was the star performer as he clinched a double. He won the men’s 100m and 200m in 10.67 seconds and 21.59 seconds, respectively.
Jayaram also qualified to represent India in 200m at next month’s 21st Asian Junior (U-20) Athletics Championships in Dubai.
The hugely talented Bapi Hansda grabbed the men’s 400m gold clocking a meet record time of 46.90 seconds, obliterating the previous mark of 46.93 seconds.
Hansda also qualified for the Asian Junior and World Junior Athletics Championships.
Mahendra Santa and Sabita Toppo claimed a silver medal each in men’s 100m and women’s 100m hurdles, clocking 10.78 and 14.24 seconds, respectively.
Sabita qualified for the upcoming Asian Junior Championships.
Laxmipriya Kisan and Swagat Behera claimed bronze medals for Odisha, finishing third in women’s 800m and men’s triple jump, respectively. Kisan clocked 2 minutes 11.01 seconds, while Behera cleared a distance of 14.71 metres.
All seven medal winners are cadets of Odisha Reliance Foundation Athletics High Performance Centre.
