Indian youngsters impress at Asian Youth Athletics Championship with 24 medals

Indian youngsters in track and field have once again shown their prowess by winning 24 medals, including six golds, at the fifth Asian Youth Athletics Championships held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The Indian contingent finished second overall, just behind China, in the Under-18 championship. This result has raised hopes of a bright future for Indian athletics.

Rezoana Mallick Heena, a 16-year-old sprinter from Bengal's Nadia district, was the star of the Indian team. She won two gold medals in the girls' 400m and girls' team relay events and a silver medal in the girls' 200m.

Her gold medal-winning performance in 400m was particularly impressive, as she clocked 52.98 seconds, breaking the Asian record of 53.04 seconds. She also anchored the team to win gold in the girls' medley relay event.

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Indian boys' team shines at Asian Youth Athletics Championships

Having their say in the Asian Youth Athletics Championship, the Indian boys' team also performed well and won a silver medal.

Sprinter Abhay Singh won the bronze medal in the boys' 200m, while Navpreet Singh won silver in the boys' 400m race with a timing of 47.71 seconds. Arjun won silver in the boys' javelin throw with a distance of 66.99m.

Other Indian athletes who won silver medals include Mohur Mukherjee in the heptathlon, Ritik in the discus throw with a distance of 54.03m, and Sumit Rathi in the 2000m steeplechase with a timing of 5 minutes 58 seconds. Ahinaya Rajarajan won silver in the 100m dash with a time of 11.82 seconds.

India also won seven bronze medals at the championships. Bapi Hansda won the country's first silver of the 400m hurdles with a personal best time of 51.38 seconds. Anupriya won bronze in the girls' shot put with a distance of 16.37m.

India started the campaign by winning four medals, including a gold, on day one. On day two, India added six more medals. The third day saw India winning five more medals, and the fourth day was the highest-medal winning day with nine medals.

This result is particularly significant as it matches India's performance in the previous edition of the Asian Youth Athletics Championships held in Kuwait in 2022, where India won the same tally of 24 medals - six gold, eleven silver, and seven bronze.

Indian athletics is showing positive signs of progress and the future looks promising for the country in track and field events. The young athletes have demonstrated their potential and will be looking to build on this success in the upcoming events.