Indian Athletics reached a historic moment when Harita Bhadra stormed the women's 100m with a world-class performance at the Indian Athletics Final Series in New Delhi. The 23-year-old sprinter from Maharashtra clocked a lifetime best of 11.22 seconds and is now second in India’s all-time women’s 100m list.
Bhadra's breakthrough performance comes at a crucial time for Indian athletics, when the country's track and field players are just getting a bit of a run in front of the national level as they get into training so far ahead of big international competitions.
Harita Bhadra Moves to Second on All-Time List
Bhadra's 11.22 second run is just behind Dutee Chand, whose 11.17 second mark is the Indian women's 100m national record.
The Maharashtra athlete’s performance is a significant improvement in her career and underlines the growing depth in India’s women’s sprinting events.
Her win in New Delhi also signals progress for India in terms of international performance, as long as an Indian athlete can hold up their feet.
Strong Competition in Women's 100m
Women’s 100m event showed the increasing competitiveness of Indian sprinting. Some women broke the 11.40-second barrier, highlighting the improvement in the standard of women’s sprinting in the country.
Bhadra’s performance however stood out, her personal best winning her the top track and taking her to the top in the sprint race and leading her to the top in India’s sprinting history.
And multiple competitive sprinters could be key for India in order to strengthen the women's athletics program.
MEET THE SECOND-FASTEST INDIAN WOMAN EVER - HARITA BHADRA 🇮🇳⚡️
— The Khel India (@TheKhelIndia) September 10, 2026
23-year-old Maharashtra sprinter Harita clocks a stunning 11.22s in the 100m to win the Athletics Series Final! 🥇
A new Personal Best and the second-fastest time ever by an Indian woman!
WHAT A RUN!!! 👏🔥 pic.twitter.com/smnzIFp5he
Tanya Chaudhary Breaks Hammer Throw Record
The meeting also produced another national record. Tanya Chaudhary of Uttar Pradesh produced a great performance in the women's hammer throw and achieved a distance of 68.35 metres.
Her achievement beat the previous national record set by state-mate Anushka Yadav and her accomplishment on a day to remember for Indian athletics.
The new mark shows the progress that India’s field events are making and gives us another reason to be optimistic for the future.
Aishwarya Mishra Among Other Winners
The competition featured some great performances in track and field. Aishwarya Mishra took the victory in the women’s 400m, which was another highlight of the one day athletics action.
The Indian Athletics Final Series itself had a 15-leg competition so that athletes were able to compete consistently and improve their performances.
The final event in New Delhi ended the series and a number of athletes made their mark.
India Builds Towards Asian Games
In India, the performances come at a crucial moment for Indian athletics as athletes are preparing for the Asian Games in Japan.
Bhadra's 11.22 second sprint, along with Chaudhary’s record-breaking hammer throw, provide hopeful evidence of India’s talent pool.
For Bhadra in particular, moving to second place on the all-time women’s 100m list of India is a major career milestone. She will now have to challenge the national record and establish herself as one of the country’s most track-oriented sprinters with the next step in her career.
The Indian Athletics Final Series has thus concluded with all the best record-breaking performances and new talent to be expected for India's athletics campaign to come and see if it would be successful as well.
