Devansh Jagga, a 10th standard student from the border town of Fazilka, walked away with accolades with a record-breaking performance in the under-16 Discus Throw competition in the 37th AFI National Junior Athletics Championships at the Athletics Stadium in the SAI Regional Centre here today.
Fourth last year, Devansh Jagga broke the under-16 National and meet record four times despite facing the challenge of having to throw early in the day and on a circle that took some getting used to. He opened with a throw of 55.02m to get the records and improved that with 55.03m on his third visit, 55.98m on the fifth and 57.01m on the final attempt
Uttar Pradesh Long Jumpers Shaili Singh and Nidhi won the U20 women’s and U18 girls titles with meet records. Shaili Singh broke Renu’s meet mark of 6.22m set in 2018 with a winning leap of 6.38m on her third attempt today. Nidhi improved on the record of 6.10m set 21 years ago by Ruta Patkar with a 6.12m effort on her second try.
“Though I got the National record with my first throw, I was not satisfied with the 55m effort. I had a 58.32m in the State meet and was consistently passing the 56m mark in training. It was only on the last try that my technique fell in place, and I was able to get a 57m throw,” Devash Jagga said. Delhi’s Ram Narayan Maurya had set the records at 53.17m last year.
Coached by his father Sunil Kumar Jagga, who taught himself the basics of Discus Throw, and with some long-distance help from coach Gursimran Sandhu, Devansh Jagga relied on his flexibility and technique to dominate the competition despite not having the stereotypical strong frame.
The results (finals):
Under-20
Men
10000m: 1. Gagan Singh (Haryana) 31:07.14; 2. Dushyant Kumar (Uttar Pradesh) 31:07.92; 3. Narsingh Patel (Karnataka) 31:08.96
Pole Vault: 1. Sakthi Mahendran (Tamil Nadu) 4.80m; 2. Ankit Kumar Yadav (Uttar Pradesh) 4.70; 3. R Hariharan (Tamil Nadu) 4.60.
Javelin Throw: 1. Dhanmati Xess (Odisha) 40.64m; 2. Aiswarya Suresh (Kerala) 38.99; 3. Khushee Yadav (Rajasthan) 38.46.
Women
5000m: 1. Drashtiben Pravinbhai Chaudhari (Gujarat) 16:39.45; 2. Reena (Uttar Pradesh) 16:57.58; 3. Surpriti Kachap (Jharkhand) 17:05.64.
Long Jump: 1. Shaili Singh (Uttar Pradesh) 6.38m (New Meet Record. Old: 6.22, Renu, Ranchi, 2018); 2. Anjali (Haryana) 6.03; 3. M Kavya Manoharan (Tamil Nadu) 5.72.
Shot Put: 1. Shiksha (Haryana) 14.02m; 2. Jasmine Kaur (Punjab) 13.86; 3. Jyoti Vaishnav (Rajasthan) 13.28.
Discus Throw: 1. Sanya Yadav (Haryana) 47.31m; 2. Kiran (Rajasthan) 46.62; 3. Neetu Kumari (Rajasthan) 46.14.
Under-18
Men
Javelin Throw: 1. Dipanshu Sharma (Uttar Pradesh) 69.29m; 2. Arjun (Delhi) 69.12; 3. Gurupreet Singh (Rajasthan) 66.83.
Women
Long Jump: 1. Nidhi (Uttar Pradesh) 6.11m (New Meet Record. Old: 6.10, Ruta Patkar, Bengaluru, 2001); 2. Pariksha (Haryana) 5.80; 3. Lata Patel (Madhya Pradesh) 5.76.
Under-16
Boys
Discus Throw: 1. Devansh Jagga (Punjab) 57.01m (New National U16 and Meet record. Old NU16R and U16NJUACR: 53.17, Ram Narayan Maurya, Guwahati, 2021); 2. Abdul Rahman (Uttar Pradesh) 53.40; 3, Ravi (Rajasthan) 52.39.
Girls
Shot Put: 1. Pooja Kumari (Rajasthan) 14.48m; 2. Anshu (Haryana) 14.34; 3. V Madhumitha (Tamil Nadu) 14.10.
Under-14
Boys
60m: 1. Chokkeri Kiran Sai (Andhra Pradesh) 7.40 seconds; 2. Pendra Vikas (Telangana) 7.44; 3. Abhi Sirohi (Delhi) 7.45.
Girls
60m: 1. Yashashree Sakpal (Maharashtra) 8.11 seconds; 2. Dimple Maha Sri Lakkoju (Andhra Pradesh) 8.25; 3. Mandala Sneha (Telangana) 8.28.
High Jump: 1. CP Ashmika (Kerala) 1.46m; 2. R Sadana (Tamil Nadu) 1.43; 3. Anita (Rajasthan) 1.40.
