The recent Federation Athletics Championships in Ranchi highlighted strong bonds among competitors alongside top performances. Athletes like Ancy Sojan and Gurindervir Singh described rivals as friends and training partners who push each other higher.
At Birsa Munda Stadium athletes displayed both record efforts and mutual support. Ancy Sojan cheered on Shaili Singh during the women’s long jump while calling competitors friends rather than enemies. Gurindervir Singh lowered the men’s 100 metres mark to 10.09 seconds after a tight contest with Animesh Kujur and credited their shared training for the progress.
Dev Meena and Kuldeep Kumar tied at 5.45 metres to share the pole vault national record. The pair train together at the Madhya Pradesh Athletics Academy and stated they will continue to challenge each other to raise standards. Their coach Ghanshyam Yadav said the duo already use the same pole and communicate well.
One incident broke the pattern when 18-year-old Nitin Gupta was disqualified in the men’s 10,000 metres race walk after a complaint by Sandeep Kumar. The episode illustrated occasional friction within the same department yet the overall meet showed fellowship among most competitors.
