Vijayanagar, March 9 (Web News) – Indian triple jumper Praveen Chithravel has set his sights on winning the gold medal at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. Determined to achieve his dream, he is focused on surpassing his personal best and setting new records in the lead-up to the prestigious event.

As per agency reports, Praveen narrowly missed a podium finish at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, where he fell short of the bronze medal by just three centimeters. His best attempt of 16.89 meters placed him fourth, while Bermuda's Jah-Nhai Perinchief secured the bronze with a 16.92-meter jump. Despite this setback, he has continued to push himself towards greater achievements, including winning a bronze medal at the Asian Games.

With a personal best of 17.37 meters, which stands as India's national record, Praveen is determined to improve his performance this year. His goal is to better his mark and secure a podium finish at the upcoming Commonwealth Games. His training regimen is centered on surpassing his previous records and reaching new milestones that will position him as a strong contender for the gold medal in Glasgow.

The Commonwealth Games are scheduled to take place in Glasgow from July 23 to August 2, 2026, while the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, will be held from September 17 to October 4, 2026. Praveen is optimistic about securing a medal at the Asian Games but remains particularly focused on claiming gold at the Commonwealth Games, a goal that has driven his relentless pursuit of excellence.

Praveen is also targeting the 2025 season to break his own national record again. Having set the record in 2023 with a 17.37-meter jump at the Prueba de Confrontación Athletics Meet in Havana, Cuba, he is eager to push his limits further. His upcoming competitions include the World Indoor Championships, the Asian Championships, the World Open Championships, and the prestigious Diamond League, all of which he views as stepping stones toward his ultimate goal.

With his unwavering commitment and determination, Praveen Chithravel is not just aiming for records but also for redemption at the Commonwealth Games. His journey reflects his deep passion for the sport and his aspiration to bring more glory to Indian athletics on the international stage.

Arizona - Indian high jump athlete Tejaswin Shankar emerged victorious in the men's high jump event at the USATF Throw Festival 2024 held in Tucson, Arizona. Shankar secured the title with a season's best jump of 2.23 meters, edging out competitors from the USA and Mexico.

The top three jumpers in the event all cleared the 2.23-meter mark, with USA's Ernest Sears finishing second and Mexico's Roberto Wilches in third place. Shankar's personal best is 2.29 meters, a national level record set in 2018.

The USATF Throw Festival is a silver level meet on the World Athletics Continental Tour, providing athletes with an opportunity to earn Olympic ranking points ahead of the Paris Olympics 2024 scheduled for July-August this year.

To qualify for the men's high jump event at the Paris 2024 Olympics, athletes must meet specific entry standards or achieve a world ranking. Only 32 athletes, with a maximum of three per country, can qualify.

Shankar, 25, currently ranked 63rd in the world, has participated in five events this year, including the International High Jump Gala in Belgium and the Shocker Spring Invitational in Kansas. Meanwhile, Asian Athletics Championships silver medalist Sarvesh Kushare finished fifth in Arizona with a jump of 2.13 meters, below his personal and season's best.

The NSS unit of Sarvajanik University recently organized a special event titled "Face to Face" featuring an interaction with Ms. Khyati Patel, an accomplished ultra marathon runner. The event, held on March 11th, was a part of the university's celebrations for International Women's Day.

Ms. Khyati Patel holds the distinction of being the first woman in Gujarat state and the second woman in India to complete a grueling 300-kilometer run in just 76 hours and 35 minutes. Her remarkable achievement has inspired many, including the approximately 70 NSS volunteers and program officers from constituent colleges of the Sarvajanik University who participated in the event.

During the interaction, the youth engaged enthusiastically with Ms. Khyati, asking questions about her motivations for undertaking such challenging marathons, the lessons she has learned from her marathon journeys, and how she manages failure. Ms. Khyati's insights were profound, emphasizing the importance of self-discipline and consistency in achieving one's goals. She encouraged participants to run for themselves rather than for external validation, highlighting the mental strength gained through physical activities.

The key takeaway from the discussion was the importance of self-discipline and consistency in achieving one's goals. Ms. Khyati also emphasized the significance of running for personal growth rather than external rewards, noting that physical activities can have a profound impact on one's mental strength.

Khyati Keyurbhai Patel, a 48-year-old woman from Surat, Gujarat, has made history by becoming the first woman from Gujarat and the second woman in India to complete a 300 km ultra marathon. Despite facing challenges such as rough roads and losing toenails, Khyati Patel's determination and perseverance led her to achieve this remarkable feat in 76 hours of continuous running.

The ultra marathon was organized by the Blue Brigade Running Club India on February 14, 2024, in Nashik, Maharashtra, starting from Syedari Farm. The event attracted participants from various countries, including Australia, as well as runners from cities like Delhi, Pune, Mumbai, Chennai, and other states of India.

Khyati Patel, known for her love of coffee, embarked on her journey to promote fitness in 2015 by running a 50 km race. Since then, she has completed 4 marathons of 50 km, 4 marathons of 100 km, 1 marathon of 160 km, and 1 marathon of 220 km. Her completion of the 300 km ultra marathon in 2024 marks a significant milestone in her running career.

Preparation for this event involved rigorous training for four months. Khyati Patel would wake up at 3:30 am, five days a week, to train for three to seven hours on the streets of Surat. She also made significant changes to her diet, opting for healthy foods such as carbohydrates before running and protein for recovery, along with supplements like dry fruits and dates.

During the ultra marathon, Khyati was supported by her husband Keyur Kewal Patel, her son Prathishtha Patel, and guide Tejal Modi, along with other supporters Jatin Bajaj, Paresh Pala, Dinesh Patel, and Arpan Jhala. The motivation provided by Ankur Hasoti and Chintan Chandrana also played a crucial role in her successful completion of the race, which took place in temperatures reaching 37 degrees during the day and 15 degrees at night.

New Delhi, Dec 28 (IANS) Double (100m and 200m) world record holder and eight-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt remains unfazed about anyone breaking his world records saying "he is not worried about them".

The fastest man in the whole world set the 100m world record of 9.58 and the 200m world record of 19.19 at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, Germany. Despite having been retired from athletics since 2017, the Jamaican still holds the title of "the world's fastest man".

In an interview with World Athletics, Bolt was asked about which of his records will get smashed first. He replied: "Not worried about none of them."

Triple world champion Noah Lyles, Africa's fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala, and former world champion Fred Kerley are among the athletes aiming for world records. However, none of them has achieved this feat so far.

Lyles, the current world champion in both the 100m and 200m events, targeted Bolt's 200m 19.19 in 2023 but did not achieve his goal. The American's 19.31 national record remains the third-fastest time ever

Nevertheless, the sprint star believes that today's athletes will find it more challenging to chase the 100m record.

"I think the 100m's going to be harder (to break) because it's quicker, and if you make a mistake during the race you're not going to get it. It's a lot more technical so I think maybe the 100m's going to go last," said Bolt.

"I remember actually we had a bet: me, my coach and my masseuse, on how fast I was gonna run. I knew I was gonna break the world record because I was in such good shape at the time. I was running great throughout the season,' the 37-year-old Jamaican added.

New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) Sports Ministry will fund the participation of the Indian contingent, consisting 28 athletes, for the upcoming World Athletics Championships, which will be held in Budapest, Hungary from August 19.

A 42-member contingent, including coaches and support staff, are heading for the world event which will have the best of the best athletes from across the world competing.

In the previous edition, a total of 6 individuals reached the finals at the World Championships in 2022 with 3 of them making it to Top 8 finishes & Neeraj returning with a historic silver medal. This was India's best performance in any edition of the World Athletics Championships.

The funding will cover the team's training cost, plus boarding/Lodging costs, airfare, visa costs and Out of Pocket Allowance (OPA) among other expenditures, a media release from the Ministry said on Tuesday.

Out of 28 competing athletes, 13 are Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) athletes and 15 would be competing at the World Championships for the very first time.

Former U20 World Athletics Championships silver medalist, Shaili Singh, is the youngest member of the contingent. The 19-year-old would be competing in her first senior World Championships this year.

Athletes who will be competing at the event are -- Jyothi Yarraji (1OOm Hurdles – TOPS Athlete), (Parul Chaudhary - 3000m SC), Shaili Singh (Long Jump – TOPS Athlete), Annu Rani (Javelin Throw - TOPS Athlete), Bhawna Jat (Race Walk),  Krishan Kumar (800m), Ajay Kumar Saroj (1500m), Santhosh Kumar Tamilarnsan (400m Hurdles), Avinash Mukund Sable (3000m SC - TOPS Athlete), Sarvesh Anil Kushare (High Jump), Jeswin Aldrin (Long Jump - TOPS Athlete), M Sreeshankar  (Long Jump - TOPS Athlete), Praveen Chithravel (Triple Jump - TOPS Athlete), Abdulla Aboobacker (Triple Jump - TOPS Athlete), Eldhose Paul (Triple Jump - TOPS Athlete), Neeraj Chopra (Javelin Throw -TOPS Athlete), D.P Manu (Javelin Throw - TOPS Athlete), Kishore Kumar Jena (Javelin Throw), Akashdeep Singh (Race Walk - TOPS Athlete), Vikash Singh (Race Walk), Paramjeet Singh (Race Walk - TOPS Athlete, Ram Baboo (Race Walk), Amoj Jacob (4 x 400m Relay), Muhammed Ajmal (4 x 400m Relay), Muhammed Anas (4 x 400m Relay), Rajesh Ramesh (4 x 400m Relay), Anil Rajalingam (4 x 400m Relay), Mijo Chacko Kurian (4 x 400m Relay)

Bangkok (Thailand), July 15 (IANS) India's Murali Sresshankar won the silver medal in the men's long jump event at the Asian Athletics Championships 2023 and qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics, here on Saturday.

Sreeshankar managed an 8.37m jump -- just 0.4m short of his personal best logged in Bhubaneswar last month -- with his final attempt of the day but failed to pip Chinese Taipei's Yu Tang-Lin's 8.40m attempt, which claimed the gold.

Though Sreeshankar’s final attempt fell short of the gold medal, it was well above the men's long jump entry standard of 8.27m for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

In a tough battle between Lin and Sreeshankar at Asian Athletics Championships, both athletes set the tone with identical 8.10m efforts with their opening jumps. 

Sreeshankar sneaked into the lead with an 8.12m jump with his third try but Lin, the reigning Asian Indoor long jump champion, came up with a mammoth 8.40m, a new championship record, with his fourth attempt.

Saudi Arabia’s Hussein Taher Al-Sabee was the previous meet record holder, courtesy of an 8.33m jump which won him the gold in Jakarta 2000.

Needing to match his personal best for a sight of the gold, the 2022 Commonwealth Games silver medallist Sreeshankar came up with his 8.37m final effort. China's Zhang Mingkun secured the bronze with 8.08m.

In the men's high jump competition, India's Anil Sarvesh Kushare clinched the silver medal with a 2.26m clearance. However, he failed to match his personal best of 2.28m and bowed out from gold medal contention.

Korea's Woo Sang-hyeok, a silver medal winner in the 2022 World Championship and 2018 Asian Games, won the gold, clearing 2.28m. Thailand’s Tawan Kaeodam completed the podium.

Meanwhile, another star Indian athlete Tejaswin Shankar, who holds the national record in men’s high jump (2.29m), finished seventh after failing to clear 2.15m. Tejaswin won the bronze in the decathlon competition in Bangkok earlier this week.

On the other hand, India’s Swapna Barman, the reigning Asian Games heptathlon champion, had to settle for a silver medal. The Indian athlete tallied 5,840 points from the six events to finish behind Uzbekistan’s Ekaterina Voronina, who clinched the gold with 6,098 points. The bronze went to Japan’s Yuki Yamasaki (5,696 points).

Tamilarasan Santhosh Kumar clinched a bronze medal in the men’s 400m hurdles event, clocking a season's best 49.09s. Qatar’s Mohamed Hemeida Bassem won the race with a personal best of 48.64s while the silver medal went to Japan’s Kodama Yusaku (48.96s). India's Yashash Palaksha, who competed in the heats, did not start (DNS) in the final.

In the mixed 4x400m relay team event, India's Rajesh Ramesh, Aishwarya Kailash Mishra, Amoj Jacob and Subha Venkatesan clocked 3:14.70 to win the gold medal, overcoming the challenge from silver medallists Sri Lanka (3:15.41) and bronze medallists Japan (3:15.71).

The Indian quartet broke the previous national record (3:15.71) in the mixed 4x400m relay, set by Muhammed Anas, M. R. Poovamma, Hima Das and Arokia Rajiv at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta.

With the addition of the five medals -- one gold, three silver and one bronze -- on Saturday, India's total medals tally at the Asian Athletics Championships 2023 currently stands at 13 medals -- six gold, three silver and four bronze.