Michael Khmel – High-performance sprint & relay coach – Worked with UK Athletics & elite Olympic relay programs.
Karl Günter Lange – World Athletics senior coach educator – Specialist in middle & long-distance development systems – Built coaching structures across 40+ countries
Pavana Nagraj finished 6th at the Big 12 Indoor Athletics Championships, registering a best attempt of 6.30m while representing Oklahoma State University.
Representing Kansas State University, Maud Zeffou and Chisom Nwafor secured 1st and 2nd place, respectively, both recording lifetime best jumps of 6.62m and 6.51m.
Pradeep Senthilkumar also qualified for the 800m final at the same meet, finishing 2nd in his respective heat with a time of 1:51.68s.
Madhvendra Singh Shekhawat, representing Eastern Washington University, clocked 7.75s, the fastest time across both heats, to qualify for the 60m Hurdles final at the Big Sky Indoor Championship.
Madhvendra, who jointly holds India’s 60m H national record of 7.64s with Tejas Shirse, will be in action at 5:50 AM IST tomorrow in the 60m Hurdles final at the Big Sky Indoor Championship.
This is the first time they are all competing in the Marathon Racewalk event.
Ram Baboo adapted very well and won the gold medal 
in his opening competition of the 2026 season, while 2022 Commonwealth Games medalist Sandeep Kumar finished second.
Himanshu Rathi (Junior 1500m silver medallist) ➝ 3-year ban from 20 November 2025.
Basanti Kumari (2025 Open Athletics silver medallist) ➝ 3-year ban from 7 November 2025.
Balvindra Singh (2025 Indian Open gold medallist) ➝ 5-year ban from 19 September 2025 (multiple prohibited substances).
Shashi Bhushan Singh (2023 National Games 1500m silver medallist) ➝ 3-year ban from 19 September 2025.
All four athletes admitted the violations, leading to reduction in sanctions.
This is now the second-fastest marathon time ever recorded in India after Shivnath Singh.
Shivnath Singh – 2:12:00 (NR) | Jalandhar, 1978.
Kartik Karkera – 2:13:10 | New Delhi, 2026.
Kartik clocked a personal best of 2:13:10 at the New Delhi Marathon and also breached the Asian Games qualification mark.
Tshepiso Masalela broke Botswana’s national record in the men’s 1500m, clocking 3:32.55 at the Orlen Copernicus Cup.
However, despite the historic time, Masalela was later disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct after making aggressive gestures towards Azeddine Habz.
As a result, Habz was awarded the victory with a time of 3:32.56.
Germany’s Frederick Weigel featured at the Indian Open Race Walking Championships in Chandigarh.
The 2022 U18 and 2023 U20 European champion finished 9th in the men’s half marathon race walk, clocking 1:28:40.
Notably, Frederick is the son of Ronald Weigel, the 1983 World Championships gold medallist and multiple-time Olympic medallist, who currently serves as India’s foreign race walking coach.
The National Anti-Doping Agency was not present on Day 1 of the 13th Indian Open Race Walking Championships, where two national records were set.
The National Anti-Doping Agency was not present on Day 1 of the 13th Indian Open Race Walking Championships, where two national records were set.
When asked about record recognition, officials said athletes have been asked to submit doping samples on Day 2, as NADA is expected to arrive then.
However, the absence of the national anti-doping body at a season-opening meet raises serious questions.
National Games 2025.
Indian Race Walking Competition 2025 & 2026.
Inter-State Athletics Championships 2025.
India has its first national record holder in the women’s marathon race walk event. Ravina won the gold medal in the women’s half marathon with a timing of 1:39:14 at the Indian Open Race Walking Competition in Chandigarh.
This is the fifth-best timing in the world this year in this event.
Last year, Ravina competed in three competitions and won gold medals in all of them, and she continues to perform well this year too.
Results:
Ravina – 1:39:14
Munita Prajapati – 1:39:25
Mansi Negi – 1:42:57
