The 21st National Youth Athletics Championships 2026 continued to produce strong performances from India’s emerging athletes.
Maharashtra’s Manav Shinde, Shourya Ambure and Yash Mulik made their mark in the sprint and hurdles events.
Manav Shinde Produces Consecutive 200m PBs
Maharashtra’s Manav Shinde continued his impressive run at the Youth Nationals.
He clocked another personal best of 21.82 seconds in the men’s 200m semifinals.
Shinde had already set a PB of 21.92s in the heats on the previous day.
His latest performance made him the fastest athlete across all three semifinals.
He was also the only runner to break the 22-second barrier.
It has been a remarkable two days for the youngster.
Shinde has now recorded three personal bests.
One came in the 400m, while two came consecutively in the 200m.
He has also won silver in the 400m.
Shinde will now line up in the 200m final.
The final is scheduled for 5:25 PM IST.
He will have another chance to lower his best.
Shourya Ambure Breaks 14-Year-Old Meet Record
Maharashtra’s Shourya Ambure also grabbed attention in the women’s U-18 100m hurdles.
The 17-year-old clocked 14.01 seconds in the heats.
She became the fastest athlete across all three heats.
Ambure also broke a 14-year-old meet record in the process.
She enters the final with a lifetime best of 13.86s.
The U-18 National Record of 13.70s will now be in her sights.
The final is scheduled for 4:45 PM IST.
Yash Mulik Sets Lifetime Best
In the boys’ 110m hurdles, Maharashtra’s Yash Mulik produced a lifetime best of 13.75s.
He clocked the time in the semifinals.
His mark was the fastest across both semifinals.
The result puts the 17-year-old among the favourites for the final.
Mulik will face strong competition from Uttar Pradesh’s Anshu Yadav and Tamil Nadu’s Kirpal.
The three will battle for the youth national title.
The performances underline the growing depth of Maharashtra’s young sprint and hurdles talent at the championships.