The National Open Athletics Championships kicked off on a rain-battered note at the Birsa Munda Stadium in Ranchi, with veteran jumper Bhairabi Roy securing the women’s triple jump gold. Bhairabi, representing the Railway Sports Control Board, overcame confusion about the venue and minimal warm-up to jump 13.10m on her fifth attempt, narrowly beating Poorva Sawant, 13.05m. She had recently returned from a hamstring injury, and surpassed her best of 13.39m in the recent inter-railway meet.
The challenging conditions, including rain and poor lighting, significantly impacted the men’s pole vault event. National record holder Dev Meena had a disappointing outing, finishing third with a clearance of 5.10m. The top four finishers all cleared the same height, with M. Gowtham taking the gold on a countback, followed by Rambeer and Meena, who shared the bronze with former National record holder Siva S. The athletes struggled to see the box and bar properly, which contributed to multiple failed attempts and the lower-than-expected winning height.
Elsewhere on the track, World University Games silver medallist Seema(Himachal Pradesh) won the women’s 5000m gold, clocking 16 minutes, 1.27 seconds. She edged out 18-year-old Sanjana Singh, who nonetheless celebrated a personal best time of 16 minutes, 3.23 seconds. In the men's sprint events, Army's Manikanta Hoblidhar emerged as the fastest man so far, equalling his own 2023 meet record time of 10.23 seconds in the 100m semi-finals, hinting at a thrilling final.
The opening day's final results also included Prince Kumar of All India Police winning the men's 5000m gold (14minutes,6.57seconds) and Seema of Haryana winning the women's Discus Throw with a best throw of 55.26m. Despite the logistical and weather challenges faced by athletes like Bhairabi Roy, the 64th National Open Athletics Championships should aim to fix on the issues as the Indian athletes eye further medals in the coming days.