Avantika Narale started the year with a 100-metre gold medal in the under-18 category in the 36th National Junior Athletic Championship currently ongoing at Guwahati, Assam, on Sunday.
Narale took 11.98 seconds to top the podium ahead of Jeevanji Deepthi of Telangana (12.07) seconds followed by Sudeshna Shiva, Satara (12.11 seconds).
“All went well right from the start today. The last few months practice has helped me gain the momentum,” said Narale from Guwahati.
Narale will be back in action for the 200 metre event on Wednesday.
In 2020, Narale had finished second with the timing of 12.08 seconds in the championship which was held at Vijayawada.
“Last year, she was struggling, but now I feel she is coming back to her best,” Sudhakar Memane, Narale’s coach who trains her with co-coach Sanjay Patankar at Unique Sports Academy.
With grounds not available in Pune, Narale also went to Dervan, Ratnagiri, to train before she finally managed to train at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi.
“After recovering from the injury I was mainly focused on her running action while her strength training was taken care by Dr Ajit Mapari and his team – Fit2Sports organisation which supports Avantika with diet and fitness,” said Patankar.
“Still the practice was not at peak over the last few months. We will be making practice more intense and our target is to reach 11.70 seconds till the end of the year,” added Patankar.
{{/usCountry}}“Still the practice was not at peak over the last few months. We will be making practice more intense and our target is to reach 11.70 seconds till the end of the year,” added Patankar.
{{/usCountry}}Narale is currently also supported with the GoSports Foundation – a non-profit venture working for the development of Indian athletes.