The penultimate day of the South Asian Athletics Championships 2025 in Ranchi witnessed a flurry of record-breaking performances and spirited battles across track and field events.
India and Sri Lanka continued their dominance, sharing top honours in a session that produced multiple meet records and personal bests. From Ruchit Mori’s stunning hurdles victory to Sandeep Singh’s blazing sprint double and India’s women’s 4x400m relay heroics, Day 3 offered one thrilling moment after another. India’s Ruchit Mori delivered one of the standout performances of the championships, clocking 50.10s to clinch gold in the men’s 400m hurdles. His time broke the long-standing meet record of 50.72s set by P. Shankar in 2008. Sri Lanka’s A. Liyanage also dipped under the old record with 50.29s, taking silver, while India’s Karna Bag claimed bronze with 51.05s.
Mori’s season has been one of consistency and progress, and his record-breaking effort in front of the home crowd reaffirmed his status as one of India’s most promising hurdlers heading into the 2026 Asian season.
Sri Lanka’s women continued their golden run as Dasuni Kaushalya stormed to gold in 58.66s, setting both a personal best and a new meet record. Teammate L.G.A. Sathsarini followed close behind in 59.24s, also under the previous record, to secure silver. India’s Olimba Steffi, who featured later in the 4x400m relay, took bronze in 1:00.21s.
Sandeep Singh Does It Again: Men’s 200m Gold
Sprinter Sandeep Singh continued his sensational form, winning the men’s 200m in 21.23s. Having recently broken the 21-second barrier at the National Open Athletics Championships, Sandeep’s victory marked back-to-back golds this season. Sri Lanka’s Rajamuni Indusra clocked 21.42s for silver, while India’s Pratik Maharana finished close behind in 21.44s for bronze, rounding off a high-quality sprint final.
Sri Lanka’s M. Yamick stole the show in the women’s 200m, blazing to gold in 23.58s, setting a new meet record and personal best. India’s Sakshi Chavan continued her strong form with silver in 23.91s, while Neeru Pathak secured bronze in 24.06s.
The men’s javelin saw an extraordinary standard, with all three medallists surpassing the previous meet record. Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage, the national record holder, capped off his season in style with a gold-winning throw of 84.29m. His compatriot Sumedha Ranasinghe took silver with 81.62m, while India’s Uttam Patil claimed bronze at 76.30m. In the women’s javelin, Sri Lanka’s Dilhani Lekamge threw 60.14m to take gold and set yet another meet record. India’s Karishma S (55.06m) and Deepika (54.87m) completed the podium, both surpassing the old record as well.
Long Jump Finals: Fine Margins
India’s Mohd. Sazid won the men’s long jump with a leap of 7.68m, edging out Sri Lanka’s Wismitha Kumar (7.56m) and compatriot Sarun Payasingh (7.52m). In the women’s long jump, Sri Lanka’s Madushani Herath took gold with 6.23m, while India’s Mubassina Mohd. (6.07m) and Bhavani Bhagavthi (6.02m) secured silver and bronze respectively.
India’s Reet Rathor claimed victory in the women’s high jump, clearing 1.76m to edge out Sri Lanka’s Ranidi Gamage and India’s Supriya B, who both managed 1.74m. Rathor’s consistency across the season continues to make her one of India’s most promising jumpers.
The men’s 800m saw Sri Lanka’s Sandaruwan K narrowly edge Nepal’s Som Bahadur to take gold in 1:51.96s. India’s Mogali V finished third in 1:52.37s. In the women’s 800m, India’s Amandeep Kaur dominated proceedings, clocking 2:04.66s to win gold ahead of K.T. Nuhansa (2:06.51s) and India’s Sankeertana T (2:07.09s).
In the men’s 10,000m, India’s seasoned campaigner Abhishek Pal controlled the race expertly to win gold in 30:29.46, followed by Nepal’s Rajan Rokaya (30:39.15) and India’s Prince Kumar (31:17.37).
The women’s 10,000m witnessed one of the most competitive races of the day, as Sri Lanka’s Rasara Wijesuriya stormed to victory in 34:39.95, setting a meet record. India’s Ravina Gayakwad took silver in a personal best 34:45.47, while Nepal’s Santoshi Shreshtha (34:47.77) completed the podium. All three athletes ran under the previous record. India’s Damneet Singh and Ashish Jakhar dominated the men’s hammer throw, winning gold and silver with marks of 66.99m and 64.68m respectively.
In the men’s 4x400m relay, Sri Lanka edged India in a thrilling finish, clocking 3:05.12 against India’s 3:05.38, both breaking the meet record. Bangladesh finished third in 3:15.00. But the day ended with pure joy for India as their women’s 4x400m relay team Manisha Kumari, Olimba Steffi, Poovamma Raju, and Neeru Pathak delivered a brilliant gold in 3:34.70, shattering the previous meet record of 3:37.04 set in 2008. Neeru Pathak’s anchor leg sealed a memorable win, marking India’s dominance in women’s relays once again.
Day 3 in Ranchi will be remembered for its record-breaking intensity and the fierce yet friendly rivalry between India and Sri Lanka, whose athletes collectively lifted the quality of South Asian athletics. With multiple meet records, personal bests, and breakthrough performances, the championships have reaffirmed the region’s rising standards in track and field.
As the curtain prepares to fall on the final day, both India and Sri Lanka will look to consolidate their dominance and take home more than just medals: renewed belief in South Asian athletic excellence.
