Reliance Foundation Athletes Shine at 26th National Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships

Reliance Foundation’s athletes were in sizzling form at the 26th Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships in Ranchi as they bagged a rich medal haul of 14 medals. Jyothi Yarraji (women’s 100m hurdles and women’s 200m), Amlan Borgohain (men’s 200m), Jinson Johnson (men’s 1500m), Tejas Shirse (men’s 110m hurdles) and Rosy Meena Paulraj (women’s pole vault) were the gold medal winners.

Jyothi and Amlan dominated the women’s and men’s 200m events to win golds on the final day of the Championships in Ranchi. James Hillier, Athletics Director, Reliance Foundation was pleased with the overall display. “This is easily our best-ever medal tally at an edition of the championships. We are very happy with the results as most of the athletes have not only won medals but also sealed their qualification for the Asian Championships. What has been really pleasing to see is the progress that our younger athletes have made. Susmita Tigga finished a creditable 4th in the 3000m steeplechase event. Young Jayaram won a bronze in the 100m event, while Animesh’s 200m silver was very impressive too. The people that we expected to deliver are delivering.”

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The comeback story

Reigning Asian Games 1500m champion Jinson Johnson also continued his strong comeback as he won gold in the 1500m event, clocking a time of 3:44.43. Johnson, who is a Reliance Foundation Scholarship athlete, also made the cut for the Asian Championships with his timing in the final.

“I was pleased to get the win, and it feels good to get some races under my belt after a long time away from the track. I have received a lot of support from the Reliance Foundation over the last four years during my injury and subsequent rehab, and am gradually feeling more confident about my performance. I am now looking forward to competing internationally to get myself in the best shape as the season progresses, with the Asian Championships and Asian Games being my target events,” Jinson said after the final.

The Gold rush continues:

Jyothi won her second gold in this edition after previously finishing top in the 100m hurdles event. Amlan, who had set the national record in the 200m in the previous edition, won gold yet again, with Animesh Kujur winning silver to ensure a 1-2 finish for Reliance Foundation athletes in the men’s 200m event.

Jyothi’s timing of 23.42s in the 200m final was a new personal best for her in the event. It also saw her make the cut for the Asian Championships, which had a qualification standard of 23.50s.

Similarly, Amlan also won gold for the second successive edition, running a time of 20.83s in the final. Animesh won silver with a timing of 20.94s. He had previously run his personal best of 20.93s in the heats.

Jyothi and Tejas Shirse’s excellent 2023 continued as both of them broke meet records in their respective events at the championships.

Jyothi broke her own record of 13.43s in the women’s 100m hurdles event, which she had set at the previous edition in 2022 by running a blistering time of 12.89s in the final in challenging conditions. She was joined on the podium by fellow Reliance Foundation athlete Sapna Kumari, who won bronze with a timing of 13.58s.

Both Jyothi and Sapna’s time also breached the qualification mark for the Asian Championships, sealing their qualification for the continental championships.

Decade record broken

Shirse improved on his personal best for the second competition in a row this year, running a time of 13.61s in the heats of the 110m hurdles event. He broke the competition record of 13.65s set by Siddhanth Thingalaya more than a decade ago in 2012. Shirse was impressing again in the final, clinching gold in 13.72s.

Double podium finish

On the last day of action on Thursday, Rosy Meena Paulraj and Baranica Elangovan ensured a double podium finish for Reliance Foundation’s athletes in the pole vault event. Rosy cleared a height of 4m to win gold, while Baranica cleared 3.60m to win bronze. In the men’s high jump event, Swadin Kumar Majhi bagged bronze after clearing a height of 2.11m.

There was also a double podium finish in the men’s 100m for Reliance Foundation as K Elakkiyadasan and Dondapati Jayaram won silver and bronze respectively. Elakkiyadasan ran a time of 10.37s, while Jayaram clocked 10.40s.

“After being the U20 champion, winning a bronze in the senior category is a very big achievement for me. I hope to learn from this and do even better at the junior Asian Championships,” Jayaram said while reflecting on his medal-winning effort.

Finishing in style

Veteran Purnima Hembram also put in a solid display to win silver in the women’s heptathlon event with a total tally of 5128 points. Hembram has now won five medals in the heptathlon event at the Federation Cup throughout her career.

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The championships ended on a high for the contingent of 30 athletes as Mohammed Afsal won silver in the last event of the day: the men’s 800m. Afsal clocked 1:47.66 in the final, easily his season best and also good enough to earn him a berth at the Asian Championships.