Published: April 12, 2026 at 10:41 pm
Vithya Ramraj, Ancy Sojan and Sarvesh Kushare won their respective events at the Indian Athletics Series 4 2026 at the Birsa Munda Stadium in Ranchi on Sunday.
Vithya, who won three medals at the Asian Games 2023, clocked 57.02s in the women’s 400m hurdles to better the Asian Games 2026 qualifying standard of 57.21s set by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI).
This was the second time Vithya Ramraj clocked under the Asian Games qualifying mark this season. She won the 400m hurdles at the Indian Athletics Series in Bengaluru earlier this month with a timing of 57.10s.
The 27-year-old Vithya was followed by Anu R (57.48s) and Shravani Sachin Sangl (1:01.17) in the top three. PT Usha holds the women’s 400m hurdles national record with a timing of 55.42, set at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympics. That record was matched 39 years later at the Asian Games 2023 by Vithya in Hangzhou.
Meanwhile, Asian Games silver medallist Ancy Sojan won the women’s long jump with a distance of 6.45m, three centimetres short of the Asian Games qualifying mark of 6.48m. Anju Bobby George holds the national record of 6.83m, achieved at the Athens 2004 Olympics.
Sarvesh, meanwhile, took top honours in the men’s high jump with a clearance of 2.19m, meeting the Asian Games qualifying mark. The Paris 2024 Olympian had already gone higher this season, clearing 2.23m at the opening leg in Bengaluru.
Last season, Sarvesh registered India’s best result in the high jump at the World Athletics Championships, finishing sixth in Tokyo after clearing 2.28m.
The Indian national record in the event belongs to Tejaswin Shankar, who cleared 2.29m in a meet in Texas in 2018.
In the men’s javelin throw, Uttam Balasaheb Pati won the contest with a mark of 74.85m.
Animesh completes sprint double even as Toor returns to form in New Delhi athletics meet
The Ranchi meet was the fourth of the 16 Indian Athletics Series introduced by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) this year. The one-day event for the Indian athletes featured a full slate of track and field finals.
The Indian Athletics Series will continue with the fifth and sixth legs, set to be held in Sangrur and Chennai on May 9 and 10, respectively.
The winners: Men’s 100m: 1. Aniket Nalawade (10.60s); 2. Rohan Ghosh (10.68s); 3. Varun Oori Manohar (10.74s). 110m hurdles: 1. Krishik M (13.72s); 2. Rathish Pandid (14.10s); 3. Majgul Mayudin Amin (15.15s). 200m: 1. Mahendra Santa (21.96s); 2. Paras (22.31s); 3. Pijush Ghosh (22.37s). 400m: 1. Malaya Barik (49.33s); 2. Pravin Kumar (49.81s); 3. Aryan Ekka (50.04s). 400m hurdles: 1. Shakti Singh (51.34s); 2. Karthik Yarravarapu (51.71s); 3. Murad Sirman (51.78s). 800m: 1. Md Mahasin Awal (1:53.21); 2. Debraj Mallick (1:53.62); 3. Vipin Kumar Verma (1:54.42). 1500m: 1. Ashok Dandasena (4:02.98); 2. Argha Gharui (4:04.14). 5000m: 1. Sandeep Pal (14:11.62); 2. Shivaji Parashuram (14:15.15); 3. Mrunal Sarode (14:16.84). Discus throw: 1. Nirmal Jena (48.77m); 2. Gautam Kumar (44.43m). Long jump: 1. Sarun Payasingh (7.48m); 2. Muhammed Anees Yahiya (7.19m); 3. Urvish Pokhriyal (7.08m). Shot put: 1. Raj Roshan (14.20m); 2. Ravi Bhaskar (13.78m). High jump: 1. Sarvesh Kushare (2.19m); 2. Afroz Ahmad (2.13m); 3. Md Nayeem (2.05m). Javelin throw: 1. Uttam Balasaheb Pati (74.85m); 2. Narayan Singh (66.62m); 3. Arun Modi (64.22m). Triple jump: 1. Yuva Raj (15.09m); 2. Swagat Behera (14.89m); 3. Biraj Tigga (14.07m).
Women’s 100m: 1. Mousumi Roy (11.83s); 2. Himashree Roy (11.87s); 3. Binati Behera (12.14s). 100m hurdles: 1. Pragyan Prasanti Sah (13.62s). 200m: 1. Mousumi Roy (24.79s); 2. Bidisha Kundu (24.99s); 3. Samriti Jamwal (25.27s). 400m: 1. Sukhi Baskey (54.91s); 2. Shravani Sachin Sangl (54.96s); 3. Rubina Yadav (56.30s). 400m hurdles: 1. Vithya Ramraj (57.02s); 2. Anu R (57.48s); 3. Shravani Sachin Sangl (1:01.17). 800m: 1. Diptirani Sahoo Kritika (2:13.85). 1500m: 1. Namita Pradhan (5:01.87). 5000m: 1. Bharti (16:55.42); 2. Mamata Pal (17:55.45); 3. Mitali Deepak Bhoyar (18:23.04). Long jump: 1. Ancy Sojan (6.45m); 2. Manisha Merel (5.78m); 3. Bidisha Kundu (5.73m). Triple jump: 1. Nupur Pandey (12.64m); 2. Poorva Hitesh Sawant (12.58m). High jump: 1. Mahek Nasrin Dayan K (1.60m); 2. Kirti Isharwal (1.50m). Javelin throw: 1. Ramyashree Jain (49.80m).
