Samardeep Gill stuns Tajinderpal Singh Toor to win gold in National Open Athletics Championships

RANCHI(Jharkhand): Young Indian shot put athlete Samardeep Gill clinched the gold medal at the National Open Athletics Championships 2025 in Ranchi on Monday, stunning two-time Asian Games champion Tajinderpal Singh Toor in a closely fought competition.

Competing at the Birsa Munda Stadium, Samardeep Gill produced the winning throw of 19.79m on his sixth and final attempt. Tajinderpal Singh Toor, who also saved his best for the last, hurled 19.32m to settle for silver. Ravi Kumar secured the bronze with a throw of 18.23m, according to Olympics.com.

This marked the third consecutive defeat of the former Asian record holder and Olympian Tajinderpal Singh Toor against the 24-year-old Indian athlete.

At the National Inter-State Championships 2025 in Chennai last month, Samardeep Gill took gold with a personal best of 19.82m throw, relegating Tajinderpal Singh Toor (19.41m) to silver.

At the Federation Cup in April, Samardeep claimed the top spot in Kochi with a distance of 19.34m while Tajinder managed 18.77 for second place. Tajinder, who holds the national record of 21.77m set in 2023, had an 8-0 head-to-head before these three defeats.

A total of 10 finals were contested on Monday. The men’s 20km race walk was won by Nitin Gupta, while Munita Prajapati claimed the women’s title. Baranica Elangovan won the women’s pole vault event with an effort of 4.10m.

Organised by the Athletics Federation of India, the National Open Athletics Championships is one of four major annual outdoor track and field competitions. The 64th edition of the National Open Athletics Championships will conclude on Tuesday.

National Open Athletics Championships 2025: Day 3 results

Men’s 20km race walk: 1. Nitin Gupta (1:24:22.98); 2. Paramjeet Bisht (1:25:10.43); 3. Amanjot Singh (1:26:27.14)
Women’s 20km race walk: 1. Munita Prajapati (1:36:14.34); 2. Kamla (1:37:42.12); 3. Sejal Anil Singh (1:38:32.88)
Men’s hammer throw: 1. Damneet Singh (68.71m); 2. Ashish Jakhar (66.37m); 3. Mohammad Shahban (65.59m)
Men’s high jump: 1. Rohit (2.18m); 2. Aadarsh Ram (2.18m); 3. Swadhin Kumar Majhi (2.14m)
Women’s 4x100m relay: 1. Railway Sports (45.09); 2. Karnataka (45.66); 3. Tamil Nadu G (45.76)
Women’s pole vault: 1. Baranica Elangovan (4.10m); 2. Mariya Jaison (4.05m); 3. Krishna Rachan (3.90m)
Men’s 4x100m relay: 1. Railway Sports H (39.44); 2. SSCB I (39.81); Odisha F (39.89)
Women’s javelin throw: 1. Deepika (54.86m); 2. Karishma Sanil (53.85m); 3. Rashmi K (52.34m)
Men’s long jump: 1. Mohd Sazid (7.78m); 2. Sarun Payasingh (7.77m); 3. Bhupender Singh (7.58m)
Men’s shot put: 1. Samardeep Gill (19.79m); 2. Tajinderpal Singh Toor (19.32m); 3. Ravi Kumar (18.23m). (ANI)