NEW DELHI: A star was born at the National Inter-State Championships on Wednesday as 18-year-old hammer thrower Anushka Yadav from Uttar Pradesh produced a stunning performance to rewrite Indian athletics history and become the youngest national record holder in the country.Competing at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, the teenager from Baleni village in Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat district smashed the national women’s hammer throw record with a massive effort of 67.02m, eclipsing the previous mark of 65.25m set by Sarita Singh in 2017.What made the feat even more remarkable was that Anushka broke the national record twice during the competition. After opening with a throw of 62.07m, he surpassed the long-standing mark with a second-round effort of 65.64m before producing a sensational 67.02m in his final attempt.The performance represented a massive leap from his previous official personal best of 62.89m, which he had recorded while winning gold at the National Games last year. His opening throw was enough to wipe out the Athletics Federation of India Asian games qualification standard of 61.72 m.
From farm fields to national record books: Anushka’s extraordinary journey
Anushka’s journey to the national record books is as inspiring as her achievement. Hailing from a farming family, she initially wanted to become a sprinter before her father, former hammer thrower Sushil Yadav, steered her towards the throwing event.“My father made me play hammer. I have three personal trainers, including my father and Chirag Yadav. I trained at my local ground,” said Anushka after her record-breaking effort.The teenager revealed he first picked up the hammer at the age of 12 and now has much bigger ambitions.“I want to throw 70m plus and win gold in the Asian Games,” he said.His success becomes even more impressive considering that he suffered a ligament fracture a few months ago.“It happened in March when I was trying to fix some problem in our tractor at our piece of land at home. My brother and father were also there at that time. Luckily, I recovered quickly enough,” he said.
A record day ignites the National Inter-State Championships
While Anushka stole the limelight, the opening day also witnessed another national record as Madhya Pradesh’s Dev Meena cleared 5.46m in the men’s jump, bettering the previous mark of 5.45m.National record holder Jyothi Yarraji also made an emotional comeback from a year-long injury layoff, clocking 12.99 seconds to win the women’s 100m hurdles title.“I was expecting a better timing, but I feel so good. Exactly this day last year I got hurt. The same day I went back to the track and I demonstrated. It means a lot to me,” said Yarraji.