Race walker Nitin Gupta dominates at National Open Athletics C'ships

Indian Army’s teenage race walker, Nitin Gupta, outclassed more experienced athletes to stamp his authority in the men’s 20km race walk on the penultimate day of the 64th National Open Athletics Championships here in Ranchi on Monday.

Two heavyweights in men’s shot put, Samardeep Gill and two-time Asian Games champion Tajinderpal Singh Toor, battled for supremacy, with Gill eventually prevailing over Toor.

Gupta, who will celebrate his 18th birthday in January, passed a sterner test by winning gold on his senior national debut. “I was enrolled in the Army via sports quota in August. The gold here in Ranchi has cemented my place in the elite category,” the teenager said after completing the gruelling 20km race walk.

Later in the afternoon, attention shifted to the men’s shot put. Madhya Pradesh’s Gill, six years younger than Toor, overcame a nervous start and secured victory with a final throw of 19.79m. “I’ve been consistently hitting 20m in training. Now I need to translate those throws in competition,” said Gill. His series of attempts included F, 18.78m, 18.92m, 19.36m, 19.14m, and 19.79m.

Toor, nursing minor health issues, settled for silver with a throw of 19.32m after a series of 18.82m, F, 18.39m, 19.13m, 18.94m, and 19.32m. “I wasn’t feeling good enough to push hard today. I will take a break and start preparation for 2026,” Toor explained.

Other highlights from Day Three included Haryana’s Mohd Sazid winning the men’s long jump with 7.78m, while Railway Sports’ Rohit and Aadarsh Ram shared the top honours in men’s high jump at 2.18m. In the hammer throw, Damneet Singh of Punjab dominated with 68.71m.

On the women’s side, Deepika of Railway Sports claimed javelin gold with 54.86m, while Baranica Elangovan topped the pole vault at 4.10m. In the 20km race walk, Munita Prajapati of Railway Sports led the field with a time of 1:36:14.34. Railway Sports teams also clinched the 4x100m relay titles in both men’s and women’s categories.