Karnataka’s Tamanna and Maharashtra’s Abhinandan Suryavanshi emerged victorious in the women’s and men’s U20 5000m events, respectively, at the ongoing 41st National Junior Athletics Championships 2026.
Tamanna clinched the women’s title with a lifetime best of 17:27.85, finishing ahead of Uttarakhand’s Roshni, who secured silver in 17:35.71. Madhya Pradesh’s Archita claimed bronze in 17:36.25. Despite Tamanna’s personal best, the winning time was slower than the 17:20.98 clocked by Sonam Parmar to win the title at the previous edition.
In the men’s U20 5000m, Abhinandan Suryavanshi took gold in 14:32.08 in a thrillingly close finish. Uttar Pradesh’s Aakash settled for silver in 14:32.14, while Rajasthan’s Rohit earned bronze in 14:32.35. The top three finishers were separated by just 0.27 seconds. However, the winning time was considerably slower than the meet record of 14:09.71, set by Mohit at the previous edition.
The last two editions of the Junior Nationals were held in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, while this year’s championships have moved to Chennai. The track at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium is known for its speed and has witnessed some impressive performances in the senior circuit. At the 2025 Inter-State Championships, Tamilarsu clocked 10.22 seconds in the 100m, while Vishal recorded 45.21 seconds in the 400m.
With both U20 5000m winning times comparatively slower than those at the previous edition, the opening distance events have raised some questions about the pace of performances in the middle- and long-distance categories.
However, it is still too early to draw conclusions. With 4.5 days and nine sessions remaining, there is plenty of athletics action left, and the coming days will offer a clearer picture of the championships’ overall performance standards.