Haryana's Amit Khatri sets new national record for U20 racewalking at National Federation Cup

Bhopal: Haryana’s Amit Khatri proved he is the best among the country’s under-20 crop by winning the 10000m with a national record on the final day of the 18th National Federation Cup at the TT Nagar Stadium on Wednesday. The 17-year-old Amit clocked 40 minutes 40.97 seconds, winning by nearly half a minute against his state-mate Paramdeep Mor, to improve on the national record of 40:37.78 set by Akshdeep Singh, in Ranchi in 2018 and the meet mark of 42:09.44 registered by Sanjay Kumar in Coimbatore in 2018. The Rohtak lad was only living up to his reputation as a record-breaker. Amit marked his presence first in 2018 when he claimed the U16 5000m Race Walk National Record in 21:17.63 and set a new meet mark of 40:28.00 in the winning U20 10000m race in the National Open Race Walking Championship on Ranchi roads in February last. He previous best on track was 43:36.26 in the National Youth Championships in Raipur in February 2019. Rajasthan Hammer thrower Bhagwati Choudhary missed the National U20 record and the meet mark by a mere centimetre when she sent the ball and chain soaring over 52.33m. It was the closest anyone got to Seema Jhakar’s mark set in Lucknow in July 2009 and will mark the 19-year-old as one to look out for when she soon moves into the senior ranks. Tamil Nadu Triple jumper Praveen Chithravel, a Youth Olympic Games finalist in 2018, went past the 16m mark for the first time since March 2019 and got the meet mark with a 16.01m jump on his fourth try. Bhupender Singh (Haryana) laid down the gauntlet with a 15.81m effort, but Praveen was equal to the task and breached the 16m mark to suggest that his injury woes are behind him. Chatru Gumnaram (Rajasthan) was another who rewrote a meet record. She won the 3000m in 9:45.87 to improve on the 9:47.28 set by Maharashtra’s Sanjivani Jadhav in Chennaj in 2014. Supriti Kachhap did the early running but it was Uttar Pradesh’s Rebi Pal who ran alongside Chatru Gumnaram’s shoulder until a sprint finish decided the winner. Madhya Pradesh’s Sunil Dawar completed the 1500-5000m double by winning the longer race in 14 minutes 45.78 seconds while Abhin Devadiga (Karnataka) and Delhi’s Taranjeet Kaur turned in impressive 200m sprints, winning the men and women’s races in 21.50 seconds and 24.11 seconds respectively.