Samardeep Gill capped off a consistent season by defeating national record holder Tajinderpal Singh Toor to win the men’s shot put gold medal at the National Open Athletics Championships in Ranchi. The 24-year-old athlete from Madhya Pradesh secured the title with his best throw of 19.79m on his sixth and final attempt at the Birsa Munda Stadium. This victory marks Gill's second consecutive shot put title at the National Open and his third straight win over the two-time Asian Games gold medallist.
Gill overcame an opening foul, throwing the iron ball beyond the 18m mark twice before consistently exceeding 19m in his last three attempts. While the throw narrowly missed his personal best of 19.82m; achieved at the National inter-state championships in August, it was enough to secure the top spot on the podium. “I was not able to deliver my best. I had a different target,” Gill said, despite achieving his seventh 19m-plus performance of the season.
The competition was another disappointing outing for Tajinderpal Singh Toor. The national record holder (21.77m) struggled to find the power for a 20m-plus throw, ultimately settling for the silver medal with a best effort of 19.32m on his final attempt. Prior to this season, Toor held a commanding 8-0 head-to-head record against Gill, but the younger athlete has now reversed the trend with three consecutive victories over the Olympian. Ravi Kumar finished with the bronze medal, recording a throw of 18.23m.
Monday’s events, which saw 10 finals contested, included other notable results. Nitin Gupta won the men’s 20km race walk, while Munita Prajapati claimed the women’s title. In the women’s pole vault event, Baranica Elangovan took the gold medal with an effort of 4.10m. The Championships, organized by the Athletics Federation of India, are set to conclude on Tuesday.