The second day of the National Inter-State Athletics saw two new records, a national mark by Bharat Inder Singh in decathlon and a meet record by Ramachandran in men's 3,000m steeplechase. While Singh eclipsed Jora Singh's record in the grueling event with a total of 7,658 points, Ramachandran bettered Elam Singh's mark clocking 8:42.58s.
However, the day's showcase event was the women's 400m final which Karnataka athlete Ashwini won recording her personal best of 52.82 seconds. It was a comfortable win for the 23-year-old after her emphatic triumph at the Asian Games in 400m hurdles. Her previous best was 53.30seconds which she did at the last edition of the meet in Patiala.
It was an exciting final that included three of the four runners who won India the gold in the 4x400m relay. In the end, only Ashwini and Mandeep Kaur (silver, 53.21s) came on top. While Sini Jose pulled up lame after the first bend, national record holder Manjit Kaur didn't start.
In women's discus, Krishna pulled out after three attempts but her best effort of 55.45m was still good enough to give her the silver. The gold went to CWG silver medalist Harwant Kaur whose best effort of the day measured 58.78m. National record holder Renjith Maheswary failed to get going in men's triple jump and settled for the silver behind Arpinder Singh of Punjab.
