Bhubaneswar: Reliance Foundation’s athletes put in a domineering performance at the Indian Open U-23 Athletics Competition to bag nine medals, including 7 Golds and the athletes also had four meet records to boot.
Odisha Reliance Foundation Athletics High Performance Centre’s (HPC) Animesh Kujur (100m and 200m) and Laxmipriya Kisan (800m and 1500m) both won a brace of medals with Animesh also winning the Best Athlete (Male) award at the tourney for his dominant displays in both the sprint distances. Laxmipriya won her first national title by showing great reserves of stamina to win the 800m event with a personal best of 3:08.70s backing up her silver medal at the SAAF Championships.
Moumita Mondal also continued her glorious run this year by winning Golds in both the 100m hurdles and long jump events. Moumita leapt a season best distance of 6.27m in the long jump and raced past the finish line in 13.71s in the hurdles event.
Speaking about the display, Martin Owens, Head Coach, Odisha RFHPC, said, “The HPC had an outstanding championship. Animesh won both his races by huge margins. He is in great shape and has finished the season really well. We would be preparing him to give a good crack to the national records next year. Laxmi’s effort was exceptional considering she’s still an U-20 athlete, so very pleased with her medalling in both the events she took part in.”
Animesh Kujur was ecstatic at his achievement and keen on pushing the bar higher, saying, “I’m excited that I won gold in both the 100m and 200m events! This marks my first time achieving this, and I’m proud of my consistent performance this year. I was also honored to receive the Best Male Athlete award at this competition. While I’m feeling good about my results, I know I can do even better.
“As I approach two years with the Odisha Reliance Foundation Athletics HPC, I want to express my deepest gratitude to my entire team. From my coach and physiotherapist to the psychologist, counsellor, media team, dining staff, and all my support staff, their help has been invaluable in my journey. Each of you has contributed to my growth and success, and I couldn’t have reached this point without their support.”
Animesh obliterated the field in both the 100m and 200m events with timings of 10.40s and 20.65s in the finals respectively. He also surged past the old meet records in both the events. The previous meet record in the 200m event was already in his name.
Tanya Chaudhary also won Gold in the women’s hammer throw with a meet record distance of 54.43m as she was in a league of her own. Jashbir Nayak, one of the most promising athletes at the HPC, won Gold in the much-vaunted decathlon by crossing the 7000 point mark for the first time in his career. The title is Jashbir’s first at the national level. The promising Rathish P won a silver in the men’s 100m hurdles with an effort of 14.56, a new personal best for him.
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