Bhubaneswar: Odisha athletes delivered an impressive performance securing a total of 27 medals across various track and field events on Day 1 of the 35th East Zone Junior Athletics Championship 2024 that commenced today at the Kalinga Stadium.
The championship, which will run from 7-9 October 2024, brings together over 600 promising athletes from 10 states, all competing for top honours. The 3-day long championship is being hosted by Sports and Youth Services Department in collaboration with Odisha Athletics Association under the aegis of Athletics Federation of India.
Sports & Youth Services Minister Suryabanshi Suraj graced the opening day of the championship and extended a warm welcome to all participants. He shared words of inspiration, motivating the athletes to give their best over the next two days.
The winners for Odisha, In the U20 Boys 5000m, Pradeep Mahata won a silver medal. In the U18 Girls Long Jump, Sanju Hantal secured a bronze medal. Soumya Ranjan Priyadarshy earned silver in the U16 Boys Shot Put, while Sagar Ekka clinched bronze in the U18 Boys High Jump. Omkar Nanda stood out with a gold medal in the U18 Boys Shot Put, and Anshika Routray claimed gold in the U20 Girls Shot Put. In the U16 Boys Javelin, Satyaranjan Ray took silver, and Debastuti Mohan won bronze. Purabi Padhi excelled with a gold in the U18 Girls Discuss.
In the U20 Boys Long Jump, Naresh Rohidas won a bronze medal. Diptimayee Das earned a silver medal in the Womens U16 80m Hurdles, while in the U18 Girls 100m Hurdles, Basanti Majhi and Gurupuja Parida won a silver and a bronze, respectively. Sanju Hantal added another bronze in the U18 Girls 100m. In the U14 Girls Triathlon B category, L. Snigdha won silver, and Samiksha Smaranika secured gold. Pratik Maharana claimed gold in the U18 Boys 100m, with Chinmay Nag earning bronze. In the U20 Boys 100m, Dondapati Jayaram took gold, and Mahendra Santa earned silver. Amrita Dungdung secured a bronze medal in the U20 Girls 100m Hurdles, while Alokika Swain won gold in the U16 Girls Javelin.
Astik Pradhan and Bapi Hansda shone in the U20 Boys 400m, winning silver and gold, respectively. Akkireddy clinched bronze in the U18 Girls 400m, and Santosh Behera earned bronze in the U20 Boys 1000m Race Walk. Naresh Rohidas also earned a bronze medal in the U20 Boys Long Jump.
The championship, which will run from 7-9 October 2024, brings together over 600 promising athletes from 10 states, all competing for top honours. The 3-day long championship is being hosted by Sports and Youth Services Department in collaboration with Odisha Athletics Association under the aegis of Athletics Federation of India.
