Federation Cup Athletics 2024: Vithya Ramraj Olympic Quest Derailed by Back Discomfort

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At the Federation Cup Athletics 2024 in Bhubaneswar's Kalinga Stadium, Vithya Ramraj, a formidable athlete with a joint-national record in the 400m hurdles, faced an unexpected setback in her quest for Olympic qualification.

The competition had been keenly anticipated, with Vithya aiming to meet the stringent Olympic qualifying standard of 54.85 seconds. This standard was set to secure her a coveted spot in the upcoming Olympic Games.

However, just as the race commenced, Vithya was forced to withdraw due to discomfort in her back, abruptly halting her pursuit of the qualifying mark and subsequently a new national record.

Despite her withdrawal, Vithya remained resolute, determined to overcome this setback and continue her pursuit of Olympic qualification as the window for Paris is open till June 30. Her coach, Nehpal Singh Rathore, expressed optimism regarding her recovery and subsequent participation in future competitions, saying she is tired after her recent trip to the Bahamas for the World relays.

Vithya didn't had the best of World Relays either as she was dropped following a poor heat 1 in the women's 4x400m relay. The women's relay team subsequently qualified for the Olympics by finishing second in the heat 2.

Coming back to Bhubaneswar, Veerpal Kaur secured the women's 400m hurdles gold medal with a time of 59.43 seconds after Vithya pulled out. Salini Valuparambil of Kerala and Ramandeep Kaur of Punjab claimed the second and third positions, respectively.

In the men's category, Santosh Kumar of Tamil Nadu emerged victorious with a time of 50.04 seconds, clinching the gold in the 400m hurdles event. Nikhil Bhardwaj of Punjab and Dhaval Mahesh Utekar of Gujarat secured the second and third positions, respectively.

Federation Cup Athletics 2024: Other Results (only finals)

Pole vault: Dev Kumar Meena (Madhya Pradesh) 5.10m, Shekhar Kumar Pandey (Uttar Pradesh) 4.90m, Hariharan R (Tamil Nadu) 4.0m

Women: 400m hurdles: Veerpal Kaur (Punjab) 59.43 seconds, Salini Valuparambil (Kerala) 1:00.73 seconds, Ramandeep Kaur (Punjab) 1:01.29 seconds

Javelin throw: Rashmi K (Andhra Pradesh) 54.75m, Karishma S (Karnataka) 49.91m, Rupinder Kaur (Punjab) 47.66m

Triple jump: M Anusha (Andhra Pradesh) 13.53m, Sheena NV (Kerala) 13.32m, Gayathry Sivakumar (Kerala) 13.08m