Abha Khatua, a 28-year-old athlete from Maharashtra, has broken the women’s shot put national record at the Federation Cup 2024, held in Bhubaneswar. Her throw of 18.41m in her fifth attempt not only won her the gold but also obliterated the previous national record of 18.06m set by Manpreet Kaur.
Abha Khatua’s record-breaking performance
Khatua’s achievement is particularly noteworthy considering her significant improvement from her earlier lifetime best of 17.13m. She had previously equalled the national record (18.06m) at the Asian Athletics Championships 2023. This recent performance marks a huge leap of nearly a meter, demonstrating her remarkable progress and potential.
Despite her record-breaking performance, Khatua’s Olympic dream remains deferred. The standard qualification mark for the Paris Olympics 2024 in the women’s shot put event is set at 18.80m. Khatua’s throw was a few centimetres short, thus missing out on securing a ticket to Paris.
National Record Alert!🚨☑️#Shotput
Abha Khatua breaks Manpreet Kaur's National Record at National Federation Senior Athletics Competition 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣4️⃣.
With the recording breaking throw of 18.41m, she not only won🥇but also improved her #RoadtoParis ranking for #Paris2024!… pic.twitter.com/oU04ewIjKo
— SAI Media (@Media_SAI) May 13, 2024
However, she remains optimistic about her chances. “I am very happy with my throw today. The qualifying mark for the Paris Olympics is 18.80m and unfortunately, my throw of 18.85 was a foul, so I am a bit sad about it. I can still do it. There is an Inter-state competition and two Grand Prix events where I will try to qualify for Paris,” said Abha.
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