Deeksha breaks 1500m national record

Deeksha finished third in the final at the World Athletics Continental Tour bronze level event. File photo: X@afiindia

New Delhi: Indian track athlete K M Deeksha set a new national record in the women's 1500m while Avinash Sable finished second in men's 5000m event at the Sound Running Track Fest in Los Angeles.

The 25-year-old Deeksha finished third in the final on Saturday at the World Athletics Continental Tour bronze level event. She finished the race in 4:04.78, bettering the previous record of 4:05.39 set by Harmilan Bains in 2021 at the National Open Athletics Championships at Warangal.

Deeksha's previous personal best was a 4:06.07 set in the final of the National Inter-State Athletics Championships at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar in 2023, where she upstaged Bains to win gold.

Deeksha, who is from Amroha, UP, has been part of the MP Athletics academy for the last five years training under coach S K Prasad.

Parul Chaudhary ran 15:10.69s in the women's 5000m to finish fifth. Parul narrowly missed out on improving her national record while compatriot Ankita ended 10th with a time of 15:28.88.

Sable finished second in the men's 5000m with a time of 13:20.37 and not his pet 3000m steeplechase event, and in the same event, Gulveer Singh ran a 13:31.95.

Sable's 5000m national record time is 13:19.30.

Kartik Kumar ran the last lap in 62 seconds in the men's 10000m, but that could only fetch him a second-place finish. He clocked 28:07.66s.

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