Kiran, participating in her first competition this season and her maiden outing since the Paris Olympics, won the 400m in 54.93s in the Indian Open athletics in Patna on July 19, 2025.
| Photo Credit: File photo: Ritu Raj Konwar
With most of the big names staying away due to foreign participation or injury, Kiran Pahal was the biggest draw at the Indian Open at Patna’s Pataliputra Sports Complex on Saturday that otherwise saw few noteworthy performances.
Haryana’s Kiran, the fastest Indian quartermiler last season, finished on top in the 400m in 54.93s across the two races. While it was far from her personal best, Kiran, only the second Indian to go under 51 seconds, was participating in her first competition this season and her maiden outing since the Paris Olympics.
Home favourite Shatakshi Rai, meanwhile, clocked 12.04 seconds in the 100m and win Race A, pipping veteran Srabani Nanda by 0.1 seconds to be the overall winner. Srabani clocked 12.05s in Race C. With several of the events featuring three or fewer participants, specially among the women, the competition level was ordinary.
Among the men, none of the promised big names turned up in the javelin throw, including Kishore Kumar Jena, who was expected to return to competition after recovering from an ankle injury. Rising youngsters Dipanshu Sharma and Vikrant Malik too were missing, with Rajasthan’s Vipul Yadav taking top spot with a 66.42m throw.
Haryana’s Raja Babu won the 200m in 21.24s among the 43 runners who turned up across six races.
The results (winners only): Men: 100m: Yernena Balavardhan (Chg, 10.66s), 200m: Raja Babu (Har, 21.24s), 400m: Brajesh Singh (MP, 47.68s), 800m: Nilkantha Ray (Army, 1:51.88), 1500m: Rahul (Del, 3:48.42), 5000m: Mannu Kumar Singh (Mah, 14:49.95), 10,000m: Shivam (UP, 30:26.20), Long jump: Sarun Payasingh (Odi, 7.62m), Triple jump: Puneet Kumar (UP, 15.64m), Shot put: Akash Grehwal (AIPSCB, 18.05m), Discus throw: Rohit Kumar (Raj, 51.56m), Javelin throw: Vipul Yadav (Raj, 66.42m).
Women: 100m: Shatakshi Rai (Bih, 12.04s), 200m: Shivkanya Mukati (MP, 24.30s), 400m: Kiran Pahal (54.93s), 800m: Nidhi Thakur (HP, 2:18.94), 1500m: Laxmipriya Kisan (Odi, 4:37.90), 5000m: Reeba Anna George (Ker, 17:48.97), 10,000m: Nandani Gupta (UP, 35:55.83), Long jump: Manisha Merel (Odi, 5.79m), Triple jump: Sonam (UP, 12.64m), Shot put: Vidhi (UP, 15.34m), Discus throw: Amera Shah (MP, 47.77m).
Published – July 19, 2025 08:38 pm IST
