New Delhi [India], September 11 (ANI): Nirbhay Choudhary shattered the men's hammer throw national record with a 71.02m effort as several of India's Asian Games-bound athletes, including Parul Chaudhary, Avinash Sable, Animesh Kujur and Rohit Yadav, registered victories at the Indian Athletics Final Series 2026 here on Thursday.
Nirbhay surpassed the previous national record of 70.73m set by Neeraj Kumar in 2016, producing the throw during a strong showing in the men's hammer throw competition. Damneet Singh finished second with 68.12m, while Ashish Jakhar was third with 67.51m, according to Olympics.com.
The women's hammer throw also witnessed a national record as Tanya Chaudhary produced a 68.35m effort to better Anushka Yadav's previous mark of 67.02m. Anushka finished second with 66.34m, while Kulvinder Kaur was third with 59.13m.
The meeting also served as an important competition for India's athletes preparing for the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, with several leading names securing victories.
Parul, the national record holder in the women's 3000m steeplechase, comfortably won the event in 9:22.49. Her Indian record stands at 9:12.46.
Sable, the reigning Asian Games champion in the men's 3000m steeplechase, clocked 8:32.39 to finish first. It was his first race in the event in 2026 after a lengthy injury layoff. The two-time Olympian holds the national record of 8:09.91, set at the Paris Olympics in 2024.
Animesh completed a sprint double, winning the men's 100m in 10.21 seconds before returning to take the 200m in 20.59 seconds.
The 23-year-old, who holds the Indian national record in the 200m, finished ahead of Gurindervir Singh in the 100m, with the national record holder clocking 10.32s. Rushiprasad Desai was third in 10.33s.
In the men's javelin throw, Asian Games-bound Rohit Yadav topped the field with 81.10m. Manoj Kumar was second with 80.73m, while Commonwealth Games 2026 bronze medallist Yashvir Singh took third place with 80.40m.
Reigning Asian Games champion Annu Rani also secured victory in the women's javelin throw with 57.50m. Rashmi K finished second with 57.22m, and Uma Chaudhary was third with 52.89m.
National record holder Ancy Sojan led a one-two finish in the women's long jump, producing a best effort of 6.76m. Shaili Singh finished second with 6.65m, while Bhavani Yadav Bhagavathi was third with 6.42m.
Two-time Asian Games champion Tajinderpal Singh Toor won the men's shot put with a best effort of 20.64m. Samardeep Singh Gill finished second with 19.59m, and Karanveer Singh was third with 19.51m.
There was also a notable performance in the women's 100m, where Harita Bhadra won in 11.22s. The performance made her the second-fastest Indian woman over the distance, behind national record holder Dutee Chand's 11.17s clocked in 2021.
Vishal TK, the men's 400m national record holder, won the one-lap race in 45.36s, while Mohammed Afsal prevailed in the 800m in 1:46.40.
Rahul Baloda won the men's 1500m in 3:39.89, while Dev Kumar Meena cleared 5.40m to top the pole vault. Mohd Atta Sazid won the men's long jump with 8.01m, and Karthik Unnikrishnan claimed the triple jump with 16.43m.
In the women's events, Aishwarya Mishra won the 400m in 52.51s, Lili Das took the 800m in 2:03.41, and Thota Sankeertana prevailed in the 1500m in 4:37.95.
Asian champion Pooja Singh won the women's high jump with 1.81m, while Ancy and Shaili dominated the long jump. Asha Ilango took the women's triple jump with 13.76m.
Seema Kaliramana, a Commonwealth Games 2026 bronze medallist, won the women's discus throw with 56.52m, while Manpreet Kaur topped the shot put with 17.19m.
Indian Athletics Final Series 2026 winners and results
Men's 100m: 1. Animesh Kujur (10.21s); 2. Gurindervir Singh (10.32s); 3. Rushiprasad Desai (10.33s)
Men's 200m: 1. Animesh Kujur (20.59s); 2. Jishnu Prasad P K (20.63s); 3. Abhay Singh (21.04s)
Men's 400m: 1. Vishal T K (45.36s); 2. Jay Kumar (45.50s); 3. Manu T S (45.68s)
Men's 800m: 1. Mohammed Afsal P (1:46.40); 2. Prakash Gadade (1:46.56); 3. Krishan Kumar (1:46.73)
Men's 1500m: 1. Rahul Baloda (3:39.89); 2. Yoonus Shah (3:40.37); 3. Sunil Dawar (3:43.68)
Men's 3000m steeplechase: 1. Avinash Sable (8:32.39); 2. Shubham Bhandare (8:50.31); 3. Vikash Dalal (8:50.43)
Men's 110m hurdles: 1. Krishik Manjunath (13.65s); 2. Muhammed Lazan V K (13.84s); 3. Manav Rajanarayanan (13.85s)
Men's 400m hurdles: 1. Santhosh Kumar T (50.08s); 2. Ruchit Mori (50.61s); 3. Subhas Das (50.73s)
Men's high jump: 1. Aadarsh Ram (2.18m); 2. Aaditya Raghuvanshi (2.15m); 3. Basant (2.15m)
Men's long jump: 1. Mohd Atta Sazid (8.01m); 2. Arya S (7.90m); 3. Sarun Payasingh (7.61m)
Men's triple jump: 1. Karthik Unnikrishnan (16.43m); 2. Gailey Venister (16.12m); 3. Mohanraj J (15.87m)
Men's pole vault: 1. Dev Kumar Meena (5.40m); 2. Reegan G (5.30m); 3. Ramratan (5.10m)
Men's shot put: 1. Tajinderpal Singh Toor (20.64m); 2. Samardeep Singh Gill (19.59m); 3. Karanveer Singh (19.51m)
Men's hammer throw: 1. Nirbhay Choudhary (71.02m, NR); 2. Damneet Singh (68.12m); 3. Ashish Jakhar (67.51m)
Men's javelin throw: 1. Rohit Yadav (81.10m); 2. Manoj Kumar (80.73m); 3. Yashvir Singh (80.40m)
Women's 100m: 1. Harita Bhadra (11.22s); 2. Abinaya Rajarajan (11.31s); 3. Giridharani Ravikumar (11.35s)
Women's 400m: 1. Aishwarya Mishra (52.51s); 2. Prachi (52.75s); 3. Poovamma Raju (52.76s)
Women's 800m: 1. Lili Das (2:03.41); 2. Pooja (2:04.02); 3. Gowthami Jayaraman (2:05.63)
Women's 1500m: 1. Thota Sankeertana (4:37.95); 2. Nikita Sharma (4:38.62); 3. Pragati (4:39.88)
Women's 3000m steeplechase: 1. Parul Chaudhary (9:22.49); 2. Prachi Devkar (10:28.35); 3. Susmita Tigga (10:33.94)
Women's 100m hurdles: 1. Nandhini Kongan (13.30s); 2. Anjali C (13.33s); 3. Pragyan Prasanti Sahu (13.37s)
Women's 400m hurdles: 1. Anu Raghavan (57.23s); 2. Sinchal Kaveramma (59.91s); 3. Tanu Chaudhary (1:01.47)
Women's high jump: 1. Pooja Singh (1.81m); 2. Reet Rathor (1.81m); 3. Supriya S B (1.78m)
Women's long jump: 1. Ancy Sojan (6.76m); 2. Shaili Singh (6.65m); 3. Bhavani Yadav Bhagavathi (6.42m)
Women's triple jump: 1. I. Asha Ilango (13.76m); 2. Niharika Vashisht (13.24m); 3. Bhairabi Roy (13.06m)
Women's pole vault: 1. Nitika Anup Akare (4.10m); 2. Baranica Elangovan (4.10m); 3. Karthika V (4.10m)
Women's shot put: 1. Manpreet Kaur (17.19m); 2. Krishna Jayasankar (16.61m); 3. Srishti Vig (15.99m)
Women's hammer throw: 1. Tanya Chaudhary (68.35m, NR); 2. Anushka Yadav (66.34m); 3. Kulvinder Kaur (59.13m)
Women's discus throw: 1. Seema Kaliramana (56.52m); 2. Priya (54.82m); 3. Nidhi Rani (54.16m)
Women's javelin throw: 1. Annu Rani (57.50m); 2. Rashmi K (57.22m); 3. Uma Chaudhary (52.89m). (ANI)
Indian Athletics Final Series: Nirbhay Choudhary breaks national record in hammer throw as Asian Games-bound stars shine
