Spotlight on Army’s teenage race walker Nitin Gupta.

Indian Army’s teenage race walker, Nitin Gupta, outclass more experienced athletes to stamp his authority in the men’s 20 Kilometres race walk on the 03^rd Day (Penultimate Day) of the 64th National Open Athletics Championships here in Ranchi on 29^th September, 2025).

Two heavyweights in men’s shot put, Samardeep Gill and two-time Asian Games champion Tajinderpal Singh Toor, battled for supremacy before the former prevailed over the latter.

Nitin Gupta, who will celebrate his 18th birthday in January next, passed a sterner test of winning a Gold Medal, on his debut in the senior national competition. “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 says after winning gold in the gruelling 20 Kilometres race walk.

Later in the afternoon session the focus was on Gill, a promising Madhya Pradesh thrower and six years younger to two-time Asian Games champion Toor. After a nervous start, Gill took time to regain his composure and raced to victory with a throw of 19.79m on his last attempt. “I’ve been consistently hitting 20 metres in training. Need to translate practice throws in competition”, Gill says after claiming the shot put title. Gill had series of F, 18.78 Metres, 18.92 Metres, 19.36 Metres, 19.14 Metres and 19.79 Metres.

Toor on the other hand says he wasn’t feeling good to push hard today. “I will take a break and start preparation for 2026”, Toor explains after settling for silver with a throw of 19.32 Metres. Toor had a series of 18.82 Metres, F, 18.39 Metres, 19.13 Metres, 18.94 Metres and 19.32 Metres.

Results: (Day Three) –

Men:

Long jump: Mohd Sazid (Haryana) 7.78 Metres, Sarun Payasingh (Odisha) 7.77 Metres, Bhupender Singh (Railway Sports) 7.58 Metres.

High jump: Rohit (Railway Sports) 2.18 Metres, Aadarsh Ram (Railway Sports) 2.18 Metres, Swadhin Kumar Majhi (Odisha) 2.14 Metres.

Shot Put: Samardeep Gill (Madhya Pradesh) 19.79 Metres, Tajinderpal Singh Toor (Punjab) 19.32 Metres, Ravi Kumar (All India Police) 18.23 Metres.

Hammer Throw: Damneet Singh (Punjab) 68.71 Metres, Ashish Jakhar (SSCB) 66.37 Metres, Mohammad Shahban (SSCB) 65.59 Metres.

20 Kilometres Race (Walk): Nitin Gupta (SSCB) 1:24:22.98, Paramjeet Singh Bisht (Uttarakhand) 1:25:10.43, Amanjot Singh (SSCB) 1:26:27.14.

4×100 Metres Relay: Railway Sports 39.44 Seconds, SSCB 39.81 Seconds, Odisha 39.89 Seconds.

Women:

Javelin Throw: Deepika (Railway Sports) 54.86 Metres, Karishma Sanil (Haryana) 53.85 Metres, Rashmi K (Haryana) 52.34 Metres.

Pole Vault: Baranica Elangovan (Railway Sports) 4.10 Metres, Mariya Jaison (Railway Sports) 4.05 Metres, Krishna Rachan (Railway Sports) 3.90 Metres.

20 Kilometres Race (Walk): Munita Prajapati (Railway Sports) 1:36:14.34, Kamla (Rajasthan) 1:37:42.12, Sejal Anil Singh (Maharashtra) 1:38:32.88.

4×100 Metres Relay: Railway Sports 45.09 Seconds, Karnataka 45.66 Seconds, Tamil Nadu 45.76 Seconds.

Team Maverick