Published: September 19, 2026 at 12:08 pm
Telangana heptathlete Tholem Sriteja rewrote the record books by scoring 4965 points on way to the gold medal in the Under-20 women’s heptathlon event at the 37th South Zone Junior Athletics Championship 2026 at Puducherry.
Sriteja, who is a student at TSWREIS Degree College in Ibrahimpatnam, smashed a 32-year-old record while setting a new meet benchmark. The previous record of 4,817 points was set by Sumavathi of Karnataka in 1994. Sriteja better that mark by 148 points.
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Sriteja finished the 100m hurdles in 14.84 seconds and bagged 863 points, ran the 200m in 25.48 seconds and got 843 points and the 800m race in 2:27minutes to earn 728 points.
Telangana heptathlete Tholem Sriteja bagged the Under-20 women’s heptathlete event at the 37th South Zone Junior Athletics Championship 2026 at Puducherry
She cleared 1.60 metres in high jump to get 736 points, 5.53 metres in long jump got bag 709 points. In shotput she hurled the iron to 10.35 metres and got 552 points, while in javelin she cleared 33.20 metres and got 534 points.
Sriteja’s long journey from humble beginnings
Sriteja comes from a very humble background. She was born to Venkateswarlu and Malleshwari who engage in farming and daily wage work. Hence, life was not all the easy for Sriteja.
However, Sriteja completed her schooling from 5th to10th class at TGTWREIS (Girls), Bhadrachalam. She pursued her Intermediate course at TGTWRJC (Girls), Bhadrachalam.
Sriteja took up heptathlon, a demanding multi-event discipline that tests an athlete’s speed, strength, jumping ability and endurance. Over the years, she has proved to be quite an athlete managing the demanding pressures on her.
At the 19th Youth National Athletics Championships 2024 in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, Sriteja secured a bronze medal to herald her coming of age.
In the same year at the 35th South Zone Athletics Championships 2024 in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, Sriteja delivered an excellent performance and won the gold medal.
Soaring high: From a humble beginning, Tholem Sriteja has carved a niche for herself by becoming one of the promising young heptathlon athletes emerging from the Telangana Gurukulam system
Sriteja continued with her rich show as she won a silver medal at the 39th Junior National Athletics Championships 2024 in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
It rains gold for Sriteja
In 2025, Sriteja built upon her promises and delivered at almost all the events she took part in. At the Under-20 Federation Athletics Championships 2025 in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, Sriteja achieved another major milestone by winning the gold medal.
It continued to rain gold for Sriteja as she won the yellow medal at the 40th National Junior Athletics Championships 2025 in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
Through these major championships, Sriteja had established herself by winning an impressive record three gold medals, a silver and a bronze medal. She became one of the promising young heptathlon athletes emerging from the Telangana Gurukulam system.
Sriteja’s journey from TGTWREIS, Bhadrachalam, to becoming a National Junior Champion is a testament to her dedication, hard work and sporting talent. Her achievements demonstrate how the Gurukulam residential education system can provide talented students with opportunities to pursue excellence at the highest levels of competitive sport.
TSWREIS congratulates Sriteja
Telangana Social Welfare Residential Degree–Jr Colleges PDs & PETs Association chairman Dr Rama Laxman, along with Shesukumari, Dr Rama and Dr Suneetha conveyed their warm congratulations to Sriteja, chief coach Ramesh and coaches Saji and Nagaraju.
