Odisha bagged a total of seven medals in the 22nd National Juniors (U20) Federation Athletics Championships at SAI Regional Centre in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh from 8 to 10 March 2024. The seven medals featured three gold, two silver and two bronze.
Among 14 athletes, who represented Odisha in this three-day championships, sprinter Dondapati Mrutyam Jayaram was most successful. He clinched a glorious double, winning the mens 100m and 200m gold medal with timings of 10.67 and 21.59 seconds respectively. He also qualified to represent India in the 200m event of the 21st Asian Junior (U-20) Athletics Championships to be held in Dubai from 24 to 27 April 2024.
Bapi Hansda lived upto his reputation as the most promising athlete of Odisha, grabbing the gold medal with a new meet record in mens 400m run. He clocked an astonishing time of 46.90 seconds to break the previous record of 46.93 seconds. Hansda also qualified for the Asian Junior and World Junior Athletics Championships.