Tamil Nadu’s Baranica Elangovan, a 29-year-old pole vaulter, stole the spotlight at the National Indoor Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar by setting a new national record. She cleared 4.22m in the women’s pole vault, surpassing the previous record of 4.21m set in 2022.
Baranica expressed her joy at entering the record books, stating that she had been striving to surpass the 4.20m mark. Despite attempting to raise the bar to 4.25m, she was unable to clear that height.
In the men’s long jump event, Odisha’s Sarun Payasingh emerged victorious with a gold medal, achieving a personal best distance of 7.80m. Payasingh, a former footballer turned long jumper, was pleased to win in front of the home crowd.
The competition also featured Tamil Nadu’s Praveen Chithravel, an international athlete known for triple jump. Chithravel participated in the long jump event to gain indoor experience, recording jumps of 7.32m, 7.78m, and 7.55m.
