New Delhi: Even before the first edition of the National Indoor Athletics Championships got underway at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, the venue gained global spotlight for bagging the hosting rights to the 2028 World Indoor Championships. For athletes participating in the country’s first domestic indoor meet on Tuesday, it was a different feeling and atmosphere.
An indoor track is 200m long, featuring sharper bends and banked curves, where the outer edge is raised to help runners maintain speed and stability while navigating tight turns. The fully covered stadium creates a controlled environment, with no wind playing a role. Fans are much closer to the action, cheering for athletes compared to a 400m track. Indian athletes are not used to competing in indoors but were excited to make their first mark.
“The turns are sharper on an indoor track because the radius of the curve is much smaller than on a 400m track. On the bends, you have to lean to balance your body and maintain momentum as you approach the straight which is also shorter. It requires a bit of technical practice to get comfortable in 200m indoor tracks,” says Delhi’s athletics coach Dinesh Rawat.
Karnataka’s C Priyanka used her experience in the 200m (outdoor) track to win the 3,000m event.
“We normally run on 400m tracks, and the 200m track is a little curvier so we have to make some adjustments,” said Priyanka, who won in 9:42.05. “My training on a 200m (outdoor) track at the SAI centre in Bengaluru came handy.”
Pole vaulter Baranica Elangovan stole the limelight on the opening day setting a new national record. The Tamil Nadu athlete cleared 4.22m and was ecstatic with her performance, having fought through an ACL surgery early in her career. “There is no wind indoors and you can approach easily. Wind plays a big factor in outdoor meets. It’s an advantage for pole vaulters here,” she said.
It helped that she trains in Bhubaneswar and did train in the indoor arena before the meet. “I’ve been trying hard to cross 4.2m, and today it turned out to be a lucky day for me,” she said. “This is the first time we are competing indoors, but since I train here in Bhubaneswar at the Reliance academy, I trained here before the competition.”
In indoor long jump too, there was no headwind or tailwind to assist or hinder athletes. Competitors perform in a steady, neutral environment, relying purely on their own speed. There was a good contest between Praveen Chithravel and local favourite Sarun Payasingh. While Chithravel holds the national record in triple jump, he was stepping into a different challenge in the long jump. The women’s long jump was also a close affair with KA Anamika (JSW) taking the first place with a jump of 6.05m while Manisha Merel came a close second (6.04m).
Payasingh clinched the gold medal with a personal best of 7.8m, while Chithravel finished second with a jump of 7.78m. Hurdles is 60m race in indoor meets, and Karnataka’s M Krishik won in 7.71s.
