All posts tagged: U20

World U20 Athletics medallist Ashish seeks job

World U20 Athletics medallist Ashish seeks job

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Before moving to Hisar last year to pursue his javelin career, Ashish Yadav helped his father sell milk in their village in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh. Fifteen months later, the 19-year-old is a World Under-20 silver medallist and is still looking for a job to support his family. Ashish moved to the IIS-SAI Centre in Hisar in April 2025 to train under coach Arvind Kumar. Since then, his throw has improved by nearly 20 metres. At the U-20 global showpiece, he became the second Indian, after two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra, to win a javelin silver. Chopra had won gold and set the still-standing world junior record of 86.48m in the 2016 edition in Poland. While Ashish’s sporting fortunes have changed, the financial situation at home has not. “My father is a milkman, he sells milk at our village in Mirzapur. My father has six brothers, three soldiers and three farmers. I feel bad when my father sells milk,” Ashish told PTI in an interaction facilitated by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI). “I am searching …

List of Indian medalists at the World U20 Athletics Championships 2026

List of Indian medalists at the World U20 Athletics Championships 2026

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Senior Asian Champion Pooja Singh missed out on a medal in the women’s high jump at the 2026 World U20 Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, USA, on Sunday. Pooja recorded a best of 1.84m to finish seventh in the competition, where Australia’s Izobelle Louison-Roe clinched the title with a leap of 1.92. Pooja, who has a personal best of 1.93m, was amongst the favourites for a medal, but couldn’t deliver on the day and missed out on the podium. 🇮🇳✨ ONE LAST DANCE IN OREGON — INDIA’S FINAL-DAY DREAMS!The curtain rises on the last day of the World U20s, and India isn’t done yet. Two more chances. Two more heartbeats. 💓First, the runway. Pooja — our national-record high jumper — steps up for the Women’s High Jump… pic.twitter.com/GOfDdsp1p5 — Athletics Federation of India (@afiindia) August 9, 2026 Meanwhile, the Indian women’s 4x400m relay team clocked 3:45.28s to finish 9th in their final, concluding India’s tournament in Eugene with three medals. The quartet of Bhoomika Nehate, Tahura Khatun, Tanu Chaudhary and Thiya Arumugam fell short of …

Ashfaq breaks U20 400m national record, reaches World Championships finals

Ashfaq breaks U20 400m national record, reaches World Championships finals

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Mohammed Ashfaq continued his impressive run at the World Athletics U20 Championships by breaking the Indian U20 national record and qualifying for the men’s 400m final in Eugene, USA, on Thursday. The 19-year-old clocked 45.81 seconds in the opening round to better his own U20 national record of 46.05s, set earlier this season, and finished second in his heat behind American Jayden DeLeon (45.63s). Ashfaq followed it up with another strong performance in the semi-finals, clocking 46.00s to finish third in his heat and secure an automatic qualification for the final, scheduled for August 8 at 9:23 am IST. Compatriot Piyush Raj, however, bowed out after finishing fifth in his heat with a time of 47.78s. Amanat records personal best in discus final In the women’s discus throw, Amanat Kamboj produced a personal best effort of 53.24m to finish sixth in the final. China’s Su Yixin claimed the gold medal with a throw of 61.06m, while American Jaslene Massey (58.41m) and Cyprus’ Marina Hadjicosta (54.88m) secured silver and bronze respectively. India also had reason to …

Asian U20 wrestling c’ships trials winner Deepanshu banned for age manipulation

Asian U20 wrestling c’ships trials winner Deepanshu banned for age manipulation

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The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has banned five wrestlers for age manipulation in youth tournaments, barring them from all wrestling-related activities for four years. The suspended wrestlers include Deepanshu, the winner of the 65kg freestyle category at the Asian U20 Wrestling Championships trials held in Lucknow on Wednesday. He has been replaced by Pawan Balaji Dhayagude in India’s 65kg freestyle squad for the continental championship, which is scheduled to take place in Thailand later this month. Four other wrestlers, Tanuj Antil, Baljot Singh, Nikhil Dalal, and Saket Drall, were also found guilty of violating the code of conduct by submitting fake birth certificates. “Upon verification with the Registrar, Municipal Corporation, we confirmed that their birth certificates are not genuine. Hence, the wrestlers are hereby suspended from all wrestling-related activities under the aegis of WFI for a period of four years,” the federation said in a statement on Wednesday. Show-cause notice to referee Jaibir Singh The WFI has also issued a show-cause notice to Jaibir Singh, a senior referee who officiated at the Asian Games …

India adds three golds at Asian U20 Championships as Shahnavaz, Basant and Nikhil strike

India adds three golds at Asian U20 Championships as Shahnavaz, Basant and Nikhil strike

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India continued its impressive run at the Asian U20 Athletics Championships in Hong Kong, collecting three gold medals, one silver and a bronze on a productive day for the country’s young athletes. The standout performance came in the men’s long jump, where Shahnavaz Khan clinched gold with a best effort of 7.84m. India also secured a podium sweep in the event after Jithin Arjunan claimed the silver medal with a jump of 7.66m. In the men’s high jump, Basant soared to gold after clearing 2.20m, adding another title to India’s growing medal tally at the continental meet. India’s third gold medal of the day came through Nikhil Chandrashekar in the men’s 3000m steeplechase. Nikhil clocked a personal best of 9:25.44 to finish on top of the podium and secure his maiden Asian U20 title. Aarti wins 200m bronze with personal best The medal haul was further boosted by Aarti, who secured bronze in the women’s 200m. The young sprinter clocked a personal best time of 24.12 seconds to finish third and earn India another podium …

Pooja Singh breaks 14-year national record, wins historic Asian U20 High Jump gold

Pooja Singh breaks 14-year national record, wins historic Asian U20 High Jump gold

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India enjoyed a historic day at the Asian U20 Athletics Championships as Pooja Singh, Rahul Jakhar and Amanat Kamboj delivered gold medals in their respective events. The standout performance came from 19-year-old Pooja Singh, who won India’s first-ever women’s high jump gold medal at the championships. Pooja cleared 1.93m to not only secure the title but also set a new senior national record. Her effort eclipsed the previous national record of 1.92m set by Sahana Kumari in 2012, ending a 14-year wait for a new benchmark in the event. The mark also surpassed the Commonwealth Games qualification standard of 1.92m, although it remains to be seen whether the Athletics Federation of India will grant her an exemption as the Federation Cup had been designated as the final qualifying event. Rahul Jakhar and Amanat Kamboj add to India’s medal haul India also celebrated a one-two finish in the decathlon as Rahul Jakhar clinched gold with 7,185 points while Upkar secured silver with 6,854 points. Rahul’s winning total established a new Indian U20 national record, underlining his …

Nipam ends India’s 25-year wait for Women’s 100m medal at Asian U20 Championships

Nipam ends India’s 25-year wait for Women’s 100m medal at Asian U20 Championships

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Nipam delivered a memorable performance on her international debut by winning the bronze medal in the women’s 100m at the Asian U20 Athletics Championships on Thursday. The 18-year-old clocked 11.62 seconds in the final to secure India’s first medal in the women’s 100m at the event in 25 years. Despite a slow start out of the blocks, the national U20 record holder recovered strongly during the race to finish on the podium. Qatar’s Dana Noor Salem claimed gold with a timing of 11.47 seconds, while China’s Xinxuan Chen took silver in 11.54 seconds. Nipam, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, currently holds the Indian U20 national record in the women’s 100m with a personal best of 11.53 seconds set earlier this year at a domestic competition. India records mixed results across opening day India narrowly missed another medal in the men’s 3000m event, where Vikas Kumar finished fourth with a personal best time of 8:24.88. In the women’s 400m heats, Neeru Pathak topped her heat in 54.42 seconds, while Tahura Khatun qualified for the final after …

India adds three golds at Asian U20 Championships as Shahnavaz, Basant and Nikhil strike

Shahnavaz, Nitin shine as multiple national records fall on U20 Federation Cup Day 2

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Nitin Gupta in men’s 5,000m race walk, Ranjana Yadav in women’s 5,000m race walk, Shahnavaz Khan in men’s long jump, and Mohammed Ashfaq in men’s 400m all set new U20 national records at the 2026 Junior Federation Cup in Tumkur, Karnataka on Saturday. Gupta became the first Asian race walker to break the 19-minute barrier in U20 men’s 5,000m racewalk. He clocked 18:45.37s on his way to the gold medal, bettering his own national record of 19:24.48s set last year. Gupta also bettered than the Asian U20 Athletics Championships qualification mark. Yadav of Madhya Pradesh also improved the national record in the U20 women’s 5,000m race walk, clocking 23:22.12s. The previous record stood at 23:43.58s. Meanwhile, six out of the eight finallists surpassed the Asian Junior Championships’ qualification mark in men’s 400m as Ashfaq emerged as the champion with a U20 national record of 46.05s. Ashfaq bettered the previous record held by Olympian Amoj Jacob since 2017 at 46.26s. Later in the day, Khan recorded a massive jump of 8.23m, improving his own meet record …

Nipam sets U20 women’s 100m national record

Nipam sets U20 women’s 100m national record

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Uttar Pradesh’s Nipam ran a sizzling 11.53s to set a new U-20 women’s 100m national record at the U-20 Federation Cup 2026 on Friday. Nipam bettered the record previously held by Abhinaya Rajarajan, which stood at 11.54s. Nipam was on the money right from the heats, clocking 11.66s, which is better than the qualification standard set by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) for the 2026 Asian U20 Athletics Championships. She further improved her timing to 11.60s in the semi-finals before shattering the national record in the final. 🚨 NATIONAL RECORD ALERT Uttar Pradesh’s Nipam sets new U20 Women’s NR in 100m with a timing of 11.53s at the U20 Federation Cup. She surpassed Abhinaya Rajarajan’s previous record of 11.54s set in 2025.#IndianAthletics pic.twitter.com/h58pE5G8KJ — The Bridge (@the_bridge_in) April 24, 2026 Meanwhile, Abhay Singh set a meet record in men’s 100m, clocking 10.41s. He also bettered the qualification mark (10.46s) set for the Asian U20 Athletics Championships. Abhay had served as the guide runner to blind sprinter Simran Sharma during her medal win at the …

India registers its first win in 22 years at the AFC Women’s U20 Asian Cup

India registers its first win in 22 years at the AFC Women’s U20 Asian Cup

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The Indian U20 women’s national team kept alive their hopes of qualifying for the AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup 2026 knockout stage after defeating Chinese Taipei 3-1 in their final Group C match in Thailand, on Wednesday. India forward Sibani Devi Nongmeikapam (32’, 87’ p) scored two after Bhumika Devi Khumukcham (26’) had put the Young Tigresses in the lead early on. Substitute Kao Hsin (90+3’) pulled one back for Chinese Taipei in the closing stages. It was India’s first win in the AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup since 2004. With this result, India finished third in Group C with three points from as many matches. They now need the Group B match between Jordan and Uzbekistan, which will be played later today, to end in a draw to qualify for the quarter-finals as one of the two best third-placed teams among all groups. Any other result will see the winners of the aforementioned match qualify. Having lost their first two matches against Japan (0-6) and Australia (0-5), the Young Tigresses looked eager to overturn …