India tops medals tally in SAAF Senior Athletics Championships with 20 gold medals

Ranchi, Oct 26 (IANS) India reaffirmed its regional athletic dominance by emerging as the overall champion in the 4th South Asian Senior Athletics Championships 2025, which concluded at the Birsa Munda Stadium in Ranchi on Sunday.

The Indian contingent topped the medals tally with 20 gold medals and a total of 58 medals, followed by Sri Lanka, which delivered an impressive performance with 16 gold medals in a total of 40. Nepal secured the third position with two silver and four bronze medals, while Bangladesh (3 bronze) and the Maldives (1 bronze) finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Bhutan concluded the championship without a medal.

The final day of the championships witnessed several outstanding performances and new meet records across multiple events. In the Men’s 400m Hurdles, India’s Ruchit Mori clinched gold with a new meet record time of 50.10 seconds, followed by Kuda Liyanage Ayoma (Sri Lanka) and Karna Bag (India).

In the Women’s 400m Hurdles, Sri Lanka’s K.H. Arachchige Dasun set a new meet record of 58.66 seconds, securing gold, ahead of Aral Loku (Sri Lanka) and Olimba Steffi (India). In the Men’s Javelin Throw, Pathirage Rumes (Sri Lanka) took gold with a throw of 84.29m, followed by Ranasinghe Jagat (Sri Lanka) and Uttam Patil (India).

In the Men’s Long Jump, India’s Mohd Sazid claimed gold with a 7.68m jump, followed by Unagolla Yeswesmi (Sri Lanka) and Sarun Payasingh (India). In the Women’s High Jump, Reet Rathore (India) secured gold with a jump of 1.76m, followed by Gamage Ranindi (Sri Lanka) and Supriya (India).

In the Women’s Javelin Throw, Sri Lanka’s Hatarabage Leka Nadeeka created a new meet record with a throw of 60.14m, surpassing the previous mark of 51.70m (2008). India’s Karishma Sanil and Deepika won silver and bronze, respectively.

In the Men’s 10,000m, Abhishek (India) won gold with a time of 30:29.46, followed by Rajan Rokaya (Nepal) and Prince Kumar (India). In the Men’s Hammer Throw, India’s Damneet Singh won gold with a 66.99m throw, followed by Ashish Jakhar (India) and K.K. Damith Mad Dhar (Sri Lanka).

In the Women’s 800m, Amandeep Kaur (India) took gold in 2:04.66, followed by Kodithuwakku Takshi (Sri Lanka) and Thota Sankeertana (India). In the Men’s 800m, D.M. Harsha S. Karuna (Sri Lanka) won gold in 1:51.96, with Som Bahadur Kumal (Nepal) and Mogali Venkatram Reddy (India) following.

In the Women’s 200m, Sri Lanka’s Mohammad Yamick Fatima clocked 23.58s to win gold, while India’s Sakshi Chavan and Neeru Pathak secured silver and bronze.

In the Men’s 4x400m Relay: Sri Lanka took gold with 3:05.12, narrowly ahead of India (3:05.38) and Bangladesh (3:15.00). In the Women’s 4x400m Relay: India’s women’s team won gold with a time of 3:34.70, followed by Sri Lanka (3:35.71) and Bangladesh (3:55.63).

The 4th South Asian Senior Athletics Championships 2025 concluded successfully in Ranchi with enthusiastic participation from all South Asian nations. The event, which started on October 24, showcased exceptional athletic talent, new regional records, and strengthened the spirit of sportsmanship and cooperation across the region.

--IANS

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