Roopa Rao Rules The Track With 100m-200m Gold Double At Indian Athletics Series

Karnataka sprinter P Roopa Rao produced the standout performance at the 13th leg of the Indian Athletics Series, clinching a commanding double gold in the women's 100m and 200m events in Warangal on Tuesday.

Roopa began her golden run by winning the 100m in 11.74 seconds, comfortably finishing ahead of Tamil Nadu's Suba Sharsini, who clocked 11.80 seconds. Karnataka's V Sudheeksha took the third spot with a timing of 12.01 seconds.

The Karnataka athlete returned to the track for the 200m and once again proved too strong for the competition, stopping the clock at 23.93 seconds to complete an impressive sprint double. Sudheeksha finished second in 24.40 seconds, narrowly ahead of Telangana's Pravalika N, who clocked 24.42 seconds.

In the men's 100m, Maharashtra's Ajay Khade emerged as the fastest man of the meet, winning a closely contested race in 10.44 seconds. Navy's Harsh Santosh Raut finished just behind him in 10.45 seconds, while Himachal Pradesh's Sandeep Singh took third place in 10.46 seconds.

There were several other notable performances across the track and field events. Tamil Nadu's Suraj A won the men's 400m in 46.88 seconds, while Army athlete Nilkantha Ray claimed the 800m title with a timing of 1:50.14 seconds.

In the field events, Karnataka's Arya S leapt 7.77m to win the men's long jump, while Tamil Nadu's Manoj Kumar J took gold in the javelin with a best effort of 72.76m.

Among the women, Telangana's Pravalika Narimalla won the 400m in 54.31 seconds, while Tamil Nadu's Kavitha V topped the 800m. Railway Sports' Pavithra G won the triple jump with an effort of 13.00m.

However, it was Roopa Rao's two-race, two-gold performance that stole the spotlight, making her the undisputed star of the meet.