Ankita Dhyani Breaks Decade-Old Women’s Steeplechase Meet Record At National Open Athletics Championships

Ankita Dhyani and Jishnu Prasad P.K. set new meet records in the women’s 3000m steeplechase and men’s 200m, respectively, as the 65th National Open Athletics Championships wrapped up at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Sunday.

Representing the Railways Sports Promotion Board, Ankita clocked 9:34.86 seconds to win the women’s 3000m steeplechase gold, comfortably surpassing Lalita Babar’s meet record of 9:39.83 seconds, set in Kolkata in 2015.

Ankita controlled the race from the outset, with no competitor able to mount a serious challenge. Mori Vandana Bharat of Gujarat finished second in 10:00.02 seconds, while Railways’ Komal Jagdale secured bronze in 10:05.34 seconds.

Despite breaking the decade-old record, Ankita felt she could have registered a faster time had the race offered stronger competition.

“I could have clocked better time. But there was no one to challenge me in the race today,” she said during the post-race interaction.

The performance was still short of the national record of 9:08.67 seconds held by Parul Chaudhary in the women’s 3000m steeplechase.

Prasad, representing the All India Police Sports Control Board, produced another record-breaking effort in the men’s 200m. He clocked a personal best of 20.62 seconds to claim gold ahead of Abhin Devadiga, lowering the previous meet record of 20.66 seconds set by B Nitin in Bengaluru in 2024.

The final day also saw 21-year-old Mogali Venkatram Reddy claim the men’s 800m title. The 2025 junior national champion registered a personal best of 1:47.01 to establish a new meet record, while reigning national record holder Mohd Afsal withdrew midway through the race.

Earlier, Sharukh Khan came close to breaking the meet record in the men’s 3000m steeplechase but could not better Avinash Sable’s 8:29.80-second mark, established in Bhubaneswar in 2018.

While the championships witnessed a limited number of meet records, athletes across track and field events recorded personal bests and improved their performances over the four days of competition.