Olympian Kiran Pahal secured the gold medal in the women’s 400m race at the Indian Open Athletics 2025 held in Patna on Saturday. She clocked 54.93 seconds, according to Olympics.com.
Her Road to the Olympics
Last year, the 24-year-old sprinter stunned the domestic circuit with a remarkable 50.92-second finish at the Inter-State Championships in Panchkula. This timing became the fastest by any Indian athlete in 2024, helping her qualify for the Paris Olympics 2024.
At the Olympics, she ran 52.51 seconds in the heats and 52.59 seconds in the repechage, but she couldn’t make it to the semi-finals. Notably, the Indian national record of 50.79 seconds still belongs to Hima Das, who set it at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta.
Shatakshi Rai Edges Out Olympian Srabani Nanda
In the women’s 100m final, Shatakshi Rai narrowly defeated Rio 2016 Olympian Srabani Nanda. Rai won the race in 12.04 seconds, just 0.01 seconds ahead of Nanda.
Vipul Yadav Tops Javelin Throw in Absence of Big Names
The men’s javelin throw event missed its usual stars. Asian Games silver medallist and Paris Olympian Kishore Kumar Jena skipped the event. Promising names like Dipanshu Sharma and Vikrant Malik were also absent. This gave Vipul Yadav the opportunity to shine, and he clinched first place with a 66.42m throw.
