Patna, September 24, 2026: Odisha emerged as the champion at the 37th East Zone Junior National Athletics Meet 2026, while Bihar secured the runners-up position with an impressive medal tally. The championship was organised at Pataliputra Sports Complex, Kankarbagh, Patna, under the aegis of the Bihar State Sports Authority and the Bihar Athletics Association.
Athletes from Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal, Assam, Jharkhand, Manipur, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, and Sikkim participated in the championship and competed across various junior athletics events.
Bihar Finishes Runner-Up
Bihar produced a strong performance throughout the championship, winning 22 gold, 19 silver, and 24 bronze medals, and finished second in the overall standings.
Odisha claimed the championship with 24 gold, 21 silver, and 19 bronze medals.
Bihar Athletics Association Secretary Liaqat Ali said the performance reflected the hard work of the state’s young athletes. He also noted that Bihar’s medal count had improved compared with previous editions.
Medal Winners Across Major Events
Several athletes from different states stood out in track and field events during the championship.
Under-16 Boys – High Jump
- Gold: Longjam Tomkrus – Manipur
- Silver: Soumik Ghosh – West Bengal
- Bronze: Dilip Mallik – Odisha
Under-18 Boys – Shot Put
- Gold: Shubham Raj – Bihar
- Silver: Snigdho Pratimo – Assam
- Bronze: Dev Raj – Bihar
Under-20 Boys – 800m
- Gold: Rudrajit Karmakar – West Bengal
- Silver: Rahul Aaron – Jharkhand
- Bronze: Vikas Singh – Bihar
Under-20 Girls – Hammer Throw
- Gold: Palak Kumari – Bihar
- Silver: Ankita Mohapatra – Odisha
- Bronze: Sushmita Behera – Odisha
Under-20 Girls – 800m
- Gold: Yanu Mane – Arunachal Pradesh
- Silver: Chintamani Tuti – Jharkhand
- Bronze: Jacqueline Khes – Jharkhand
Under-20 Girls – 3000m
- Gold: Sonam Kumari – Jharkhand
- Silver: Manju Kumari – Jharkhand
- Bronze: Sadhana Yadav – Bihar
Under-20 Boys – 3000m
- Gold: Deepak Kumar Mahto – Jharkhand
- Silver: Dolmani Chirgun – Odisha
- Bronze: Purba Hisse – Sikkim
Under-14 Boys – Triathlon Group A
- Gold: Ayush Kumar – Jharkhand
- Silver: Barno Das – West Bengal
- Bronze: Aditya Raj – Bihar
Under-20 Boys – 200m
- Gold: Kaushik Gogoi – Assam
- Silver: Pratik Maharana – Odisha
- Bronze: Irmanvil Reme – Meghalaya
Under-18 Girls – 200m
- Gold: Dhritima Deka – Assam
- Silver: Mamta Mary Murmu – Jharkhand
- Bronze: Brishti Gogoi – Assam
Under-18 Boys – 200m
- Gold: Himanshu Behera – Odisha
- Silver: Ayushman Mahapatra – Odisha
- Bronze: Rishu Raj – Jharkhand
Under-20 Girls – 400m Hurdles
- Gold: Shivani Kumari – Jharkhand
- Silver: Basanti Manjhi – Odisha
- Bronze: Manisha Lakra – Odisha
Under-20 Boys – 400m Hurdles
- Gold: Lusen Khamari – Odisha
- Silver: Sayan Mandal – West Bengal
- Bronze: Roshan Kharia – Odisha
Under-20 Girls – 3000m Steeplechase
- Gold: Sabina Rai – Sikkim
- Silver: Sunita Santa – Odisha
- Bronze: Dolly Kumari – Bihar
Under-20 Boys – 3000m Steeplechase
- Gold: Ayush Kumar – Bihar
- Silver: Biswajit Souv – West Bengal
- Bronze: Anchal Rai – Sikkim
Under-20 Boys – 4x400m Relay
- Gold: Bihar
- Silver: Jharkhand
- Bronze: Odisha
Under-20 Boys – Triple Jump
- Gold: Rajarshi Barman – Assam
- Silver: Dular Kerketta – Jharkhand
- Bronze: Vivek Oren – Jharkhand
Under-16 Boys – 1000m Medley Relay
- Gold: Bihar
- Silver: Odisha
- Bronze: West Bengal
Under-18 Girls – Shot Put
- Gold: Dipti Rajbanshi – West Bengal
- Silver: Ipshita Borah – Assam
- Bronze: Suhani Singh – Jharkhand
Under-18 Girls – 1000m
- Gold: Khushi Kumari – Bihar
- Silver: Rivana Sultana – West Bengal
- Bronze: Barsha Pramanik – West Bengal
Under-18 Boys – 1000m
- Gold: Santosh Kumar – Jharkhand
- Silver: Piyush Kesari – Bihar
- Bronze: Raj Sinha – Bihar
Under-14 Boys – Triathlon Group C
- Gold: Himanshu Kumar – Jharkhand
- Silver: Prashant Kumar – Bihar
- Bronze: Prince Kumar – Bihar
Under-14 Girls – Triathlon Group C
- Gold: Joita Pakhira – West Bengal
- Silver: Anushka Samanta – West Bengal
- Bronze: Bindiya Kumari – Bihar
Under-16 Girls – 1000m Medley Relay
- Gold: Jharkhand
- Silver: West Bengal
- Bronze: Bihar
Under-18 Girls – Heptathlon
- Gold: Urmila Bharsagi – Odisha
- Silver: Triya Das – West Bengal
- Bronze: Seema Kumari – Jharkhand
Under-18 Boys – Heptathlon
- Gold: Akash Ashwini – Bihar
- Silver: Deb Mandal – West Bengal
- Bronze: Meghadhari Saha – West Bengal
Under-20 Girls – Shot Put
- Gold: Shreya Nayak – West Bengal
- Silver: Sasmita Behera – Odisha
- Bronze: Melibad Karo – Meghalaya
Under-16 Boys – Javelin Throw
- Gold: Kisu Singh – Bihar
- Silver: Mugdha Puran Boro – Assam
- Bronze: Gaurav Bauri – West Bengal
Officials and Technical Team
The championship was conducted with the participation of technical officials associated with the Athletics Federation of India, along with officials from participating states.
Officials from West Bengal included Shambhu Bandyopadhyay, Sandeep Kar, Aniruddha Pramanik, Somnath Malik, Sudip Sengupta, Gopal Ghosh, Dr Sangeeta Banik, Anup Kumar Man and Arnav Bhattacharya, among others.
Technical representatives from Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Odisha, Jharkhand and Bihar also contributed to the smooth conduct of the competitions.
Around 80 technical officials were involved in supervising different events and assisting the technical judging teams.
Closing Ceremony
The championship concluded in the presence of Bihar State Sports Authority Director General-cum-Chief Executive Officer Ravindran Shankaran, Sports Department Director Vivek Ranjan Maitrey, former Director Sanjay Kumar Sinha, and Bihar Athletics Association Secretary Liaqat Ali.
The winning teams were felicitated with trophies during the closing ceremony.
The performance of Bihar’s young athletes, including multiple individual and relay medal winners, marked a strong showing for the host state at the 37th East Zone Junior National Athletics Meet.
Source: Bihar State Sports Authority / Bihar Athletics Association
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