Asian Athletics: Telangana’s Nandini wins historic heptathlon gold

The 21-year-old Nandini also triumphed at the 2025 Asian Athletics meet, in addition to securing a bronze at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou

Hyderabad: Agasara Nandini of Telangana became only the third Indian athlete to win a heptathlon gold when she clinched the honor at the Asian Athletics Championship in Gumi (South Korea) on Friday.

The 21-year-old Nandini also triumphed at the 2025 Asian Athletics meet, in addition to securing a bronze at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou.

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Known for her remarkable fighting spirit, the Telangana athlete went into the final event — the 800m race — trailing China’s Liu Jingyi by 54 points.

But Nandini clocked 2:15.54 (885 points), outpacing Jingyi, who finished in 2:24.87 (759 points), to secure a brilliant win.

Agasara is only the third Indian to win heptathlon gold at the Asian Championships, following Swapna Barman (2017) and Soma Biswas (2005).

For the record, Nandini is the pride of Telangana and a product of the Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society college in Sangareddy. She is currently in her final year of a Bachelor of Arts (Business Administration) degree.

She began her academic and athletic journey at TSWREIS and Junior College, Narsingi, where she studied from Class 10 through Intermediate. Her transformation into a world-class athlete has been made possible through the long-term athletics coaching camp established by TSWREIS in November 2018, aimed at nurturing sports talent among marginalized students.

The turning point of her career was a strategic MoU signed with chief national badminton coach P. Gopi Chand to ensure the training is equipped with top-tier infrastructure and expert guidance.

One of the happiest people around is SAI athletics coach Nagapuri Ramesh, who has been mentoring her since her early days, despite all odds in the city. With Saji and Nagaraju working in tandem, the gifted athlete has been making a mark at the highest level with the desired consistency.

Nandini was also a semifinalist in the 2021 World Junior Athletics 100m hurdles and has a rich haul of 34 medals at the national level, including 17 gold, nine silver, and eight bronze.

“Nandini’s inspiring journey from a residential school to the international podium stands as a symbol of empowerment, opportunity, and excellence nurtured by TSWREIS,” says Dr. Rama Laxman in a chat with Telangana Today, who has seen her from the early days.

“Her achievements are a beacon of hope for thousands of young athletes from underserved communities, proving that with the right support and determination, dreams do come true,” he said.