Bengaluru, Sept 3: Vithya Ramraj made history at the 63rd National Open Athletics Championships held at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Monday by breaking a 39-year-old meet record in the women’s 400m hurdles. Ramraj clocked an impressive 56.23 seconds, surpassing the previous record of 56.80 seconds set by the legendary P.T. Usha in 1985.

“Breaking P.T. Usha’s record is a dream come true,” Ramraj said. “She is an absolute legend in Indian athletics, and my coach was determined that I surpass this milestone. He motivated me by promising five days of leave if I could run under 57 seconds, which I’ll now use to visit my parents in Coimbatore after a year.”

In the men’s 200m, Tamil Nadu’s Nithin set a new meet record with a time of 20.66 seconds, breaking the previous record of 20.74 seconds held by Animesh Kujur since 2023.

Ancy Sojan emerged victorious in the women’s long jump with a leap of 6.71 meters, earning her the title of the best woman athlete of the event. Her attempt narrowly missed the meet record of 6.74 meters set by Anju Bobby George in 2002.