At the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, amidst rain-slicked tracks and a fiercely competitive field, Moumita Mondal of West Bengal etched her name deeper into Indian athletics history.
The 25-year-old hurdler clinched the gold medal in the women’s 100m hurdles at the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships with a stunning personal best of 13.22 seconds. It wasn’t just a victory. It was a culmination of years of perseverance, systematic training, and a story that stretches from the lanes of rural Bengal to the cutting-edge facilities of India’s high-performance centers.
A Personal Best That Speaks of Consistency
Moumita’s timing of 13.22s shaved off two-hundredths from her previous best (13.24s), achieved just weeks ago at the Dromia International Sprint and Relays Meeting in Greece. At first glance, the improvement may seem marginal, but in sprint hurdles, where races are won and lost by fractions, this consistency signals something more important: a training program that is yielding predictable, progressive results. Her victory in Chennai saw her finish ahead of Tamil Nadu’s Nandhini K (13.45s) and Kerala’s Anjali C (13.68s). Crucially, it was not a breakout one-off performance, but another incremental step in a journey that has been carefully plotted and executed.
From Jirat Village to National Champion
Moumita’s story is as much about her roots as her records. Raised in Jirat village, Hooghly district, West Bengal, the daughter of a tea seller, she began running barefoot on modest village tracks. From there, she built herself into one of India’s most consistent hurdlers, amassing 25 national medals across a decade-long career.
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Her collection includes podium finishes across major national meets from junior championships to the National Games, where she has medals in both hurdles and long jump. Despite this, recognition has often eluded her in a cricket-dominated sports culture. This gold at the Inter-State Championships, paired with a personal best, may well be the turning point where her name begins to register in mainstream athletics conversations.
A crucial factor in her rise has been her training at the Reliance Foundation Odisha Athletics High Performance Centre (HPC), where she has worked under the guidance of head coach James Hillier. When she joined in 2021, her personal best stood at 14.56s. Within months, it dropped to 14.05s a testament to the technical refinements brought into her training. Hillier’s focus was on improving her trail leg mechanics and increasing speed between hurdles. By shortening lever actions and focusing on efficient clearance, Moumita has steadily chipped away at her times, embodying the HPC’s philosophy of marginal gains built into long-term progression. She now trains at the Jio Institute, Navi Mumbai.
Her rise also comes in the context of a wider trend. In 2025 alone, Reliance Foundation-supported athletes have shattered national records:
- Animesh Kujur in 100m (10.18s) and 200m (20.32s)
- Mohammed Afsal in 800m (1:44.93), who trains at Endurance program based out of Bengaluru
Moumita’s personal best, though not yet a national record, fits within this wave of breakthroughs driven by structured, data-backed training.
India’s national record in women’s 100m hurdles remains 12.78s, held by Jyothi Yarraji. Moumita’s 13.22s leaves a 0.44s gap, which in a short event is significant. But it also sets a clear benchmark. For Moumita, the presence of a domestic rival of Yarraji’s caliber can be a blessing. Internal rivalries of this kind can push athletes beyond their comfort zones and closer to international standards. Bridging that gap will demand not just technical refinements but also improvements in explosive starts, hurdle rhythm under pressure, and physical strength conditioning.
What makes Moumita’s story even more compelling is her versatility. Beyond hurdles, she has been a successful long jumper (PB: 6.45m) and has even tried her hand at the heptathlon. She won gold in long jump at the 38th National Games, showing that her athleticism extends beyond a single event. The strategic question now is whether to specialize in hurdles where she already has a defined target in the national record or continue balancing multiple disciplines. With the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics on the horizon, the decision could shape her career trajectory.
Recognition Beyond the Track
Despite her consistent success, Moumita has remained largely under the radar. Her 25-medal haul, spanning a decade, illustrates sustained excellence, yet her story has not captured headlines the way some of her contemporaries have. But Chennai may change that. Gold, personal best, and a performance under challenging conditions it’s a combination that demands attention. More importantly, it reflects the deeper transformation happening in Indian athletics: stories of athletes from modest beginnings, sharpened by professional systems, breaking through at national and international levels.
For Moumita, the immediate focus will be on continuing her progression toward World Championship and Olympic qualifying standards. The journey is steep, but the building blocks are in place: a proven high-performance system, a clear target in Jyothi Yarraji’s record, and the resilience of an athlete who has already overcome enormous odds. Her win in Chennai wasn’t just about 13.22 seconds. It was about a decade of work, about the transformation of Indian athletics into a system that can nurture world-class competitors, and about a reminder that beyond the glare of cricket and celebrity, there are athletes who are steadily raising India’s sporting profile hurdle by hurdle.
Moumita Mondal’s story is still being written. But if her latest performance is any indication, the next chapters will be about more than just national medals.
They could well be about international breakthroughs and perhaps, Olympic dreams.
