Meet Anushka Yadav, India’s youngest national record holder

A new star emerged in Indian athletics on Wednesday as 18-year-old hammer thrower Anushka Yadav from Uttar Pradesh delivered a record-breaking performance at the National Inter-State Championships. Her achievement not only etched her name into the history books but also made her the youngest national record holder in Indian athletics.

Competing at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Anushka produced a remarkable throw of 67.02 metres in the women’s hammer throw event, surpassing the previous national record of 65.25 metres set by Sarita Singh in 2017.

The young athlete from Baleni village in Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat district achieved the feat in spectacular fashion, breaking the national record twice during the same competition.

She began with a throw of 62.07m, then exceeded the existing record with a second-round effort of 65.64m before improving further to 67.02m on her final attempt.

The performance marked a significant improvement from her previous personal best of 62.89m, recorded while winning gold at the National Games last year. Even her opening throw comfortably crossed the Athletics Federation of India qualifying standard of 61.72m for the Asian Games.

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Interestingly, Anushka’s sporting journey did not begin in the throwing arena, as she initially trained as a 100-metre sprinter before switching to hammer throw on the recommendation of her father, Sushil Yadav, who also became her first coach.

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Raised in a farming family in Baleni village, Anushka was introduced to the hammer throw at the age of 12. Since then, she has trained under several coaches, including her father and Chirag Yadav, while continuing her practice sessions at her local training ground.

Following her record-breaking performance, Anushka expressed her ambition to push beyond the 70-metre mark and secure a gold medal at the Asian Games.

Her success becomes even more inspiring considering she suffered a ligament fracture in March. The injury occurred while she was helping repair a tractor on her family’s farmland.

Despite the setback, she recovered in time to compete at the National Inter-State Championships and produce the finest performance of her career.