Abinaya Rajarajan breaks U20 national 100m record at World Athletics Continental Tour

Bhubaneswar: Abinaya Rajarajan’s comeback from injury had been a gradual one, with the 19-year-old Tamil Nadu sprinter steadily improving with every competition. On Saturday, she produced the breakthrough she had been waiting for, clocking a stunning 11.34s to win the women’s 100m title and break the U20 national record at the World Athletics Continental Tour Silver meet at Kalinga Stadium here.

Abinaya bettered the previous mark of 11.53s set by Nipam Chauhan at the U20 Federation Cup earlier this year, capping a steady progression since returning from an injury that kept her out of training for nearly four months. “In the Czech Republic, I ran 11.58s. I was hoping to break the national record there, but because of my physical condition, I couldn’t do it,” said the 19-year-old, who trains at NCOE Trivandrum under coach R Seenivasan and is currently the third fastest India after Dutee Chand (11.17s) and Rachita Mistry (11.34s). “But today I was fully fired up. I really wanted to run and break the under-20 national record. I didn’t expect this, though. 11.34 is a crazy, crazy time.”

Abinaya had suffered the injury during the Asian Indoor Championships earlier this year and was forced to withdraw from the final. She then underwent an extended rehabilitation before gradually returning to competition. Her timings improved with every race, but the U20 national record remained elusive. Her father, however, had spotted her natural speed much earlier. “We had a running race when we were out for a walk, and she beat me when she was six years old. Initially, I thought it was a fluke. The next day, I ran with full effort, but she was still faster than me. That’s when I realised she was talented,” said Rajarajan.

While the words of her coach and the support of her father helped her through the difficult period, visualization also played a big role in her recovery. “Visualization was obviously a big part of it. I also kept thinking about the words of my coach during training. And my dad was a huge support. He has always been my hero,” said Abinaya. “Even when I was doing visualization, he would tell me, ‘Don’t take any pressure. Run easily. Just run. Enjoy. I love you.’” And after finally producing the run, she had been chasing, Abinaya celebrated with Cristiano Ronaldo’s famous ‘Siu’ celebration to the delight of the fans.

Abinaya’s record-breaking run apart, it was a strong day for Indian athletics. Rohit Yadav put his Commonwealth Games disappointment behind him to win the men’s javelin title with a huge 87.68m throw in his final attempt, having taken a fall during his second attempt. Yashvir Singh, who won bronze at the CWG, finished second with a best throw of 82.94m.

Among the other big names of Indian athletics, Ancy Sojan won the women’s long jump with a best leap of 6.71m, while Shaili Singh came second with an effort of 6.56m. Murali Sreeshankar clinched the men’s title with an effort of 8.07m, while Vithya Ramraj won the women’s 400m with a personal best of 51.96s. In the men’s 100m, Animesh Kujur and Gurindervir Singh clocked 10.32s and 10.39s respectively. Among the foreign athletes, Nigeria’s Commonwealth Games shot put champion Chukwuebuka Enekwechi won the title with a throw of 20.78m. In the women’s discus throw, Jamaica’s Commonwealth Games champion Samantha Hall finished second with a throw of 58.43m, while Brazil’s Andressa de Morais won with a penultimate-round throw of 58.66m. However, it was a disappointing night for Jyothi Yarraji, who finished third in the women’s 100m hurdles with a time of 13.24s and later pulled out midway into the 100m.