National Junior Athletics Champs 2026: Poonam, Juin, Alice recover from setbacks to find the next step

Poonam recovered from two opening fouls to win the women’s U-20 javelin title with 51.48m at the National Junior Athletics Championships in Chennai, Sportstar reported. Her first two throws landed outside the sector. Juin Mantusa and S. Alice Deva Prasanna also finished on the podium.

Poonam’s first thought before her third attempt was to secure a place in the top eight and earn three more throws. She said fouling a third time would have eliminated her. Her coach, former javelin thrower Hanuman Singh, advised her to release the javelin a little further inside the sector. She stayed in the competition and went on to take gold. She later identified her run-up and a tendency to move towards the right as areas requiring attention. Much of her recent training had been devoted to technique, which she believed would help her throw further.

Hanuman introduced her to javelin when she was in Class 10 at a school in Bangaon village in Haryana’s Fatehabad district. He had taken her straight from the classroom. Poonam said she did not know why he picked her but was happy he did. Her inspiration came from the senior girls in her village rather than an established star of the sport. Hanuman’s support extends beyond training. Poonam said he meets most of her sporting expenses, including travel to competitions and the purchase of javelins.

Poonam’s father died in December 2024, just before that year’s Junior Nationals. She travelled to Odisha two days after his death and went on to win the U-18 silver. Now in her final junior season, Poonam wants to represent India at the senior level, with improvements to her run-up among her priorities as she prepares to move up.

Juin Mantusa added the women’s U-20 high jump title to last year’s U-18 gold, clearing 1.71m to lead a one-two finish for West Bengal. She cleared every height she attempted up to 1.71m at the first attempt before failing three times at 1.74m. She won on countback ahead of teammate Mohur Mukherjee, who also cleared 1.71m but had failures at earlier heights. Juin said she was not satisfied because her expectations were higher and her target was 1.75m, but she cleared 1.71m. The Kolkata-based jumper, who began with gymnastics, felt better physically than at the Junior Federation competition, where she had cleared 1.69m. She added that she needed to improve her approach speed.

S. Alice Deva Prasanna of Tamil Nadu claimed bronze with a clearance of 1.65m despite lingering discomfort from an injury sustained in 20

Junior Nationals results from Sportstar

Sources

• Sportstar

• Wikipedia: 2015 African Junior Athletics Championships (background)

• Photo: MahmurMarganti, Pixabay Content License (Pixabay)