Mohammed Ashfaq breaks U20 national record to reach World Athletics U20 400m final

India's Mohammed Ashfaq shattered the U20 national 400m record to qualify for the World Athletics U20 Championships final after clocking 45.81 seconds. Basant reached the high jump final, while Amanat Kamboj finished sixth in the women's discus with a personal best.

Eugene: India’s Mohammed Ashfaq broke the U20 national record in paving his way to qualify for the men’s 400m final at the World Athletics U20 Championships 2026.

The 19-year-old clocked 45.81 to finish second in Heat 5 and qualify for the semi-final, breaking his own record of 46.05 set at the U20 Federation Cup in Bengaluru in April. In the semifinal Heat 3, Ashfaq clocked 46.00 to finish third and progress to the final.

---

His compatriot Piyush Raj finished fifth in Heat 6 with a time of 47.78 and failed to make it to the final round.

In the men’s high jump, Basant qualified for the final with a jump of 2.14m, finishing fifth in qualification Group A.

K. Ambriesh finished with a best jump of 2.05m failed to qualify after finishing 12th in qualification Group B. Notably, no athlete in either group managed to clear the automatic qualification mark of 2.21m.

In the women’s shot put, Anshu missed out on a place in the final. She registered a best throw of 15.24m, falling 21cm short of the final qualification cutoff, to finish ninth in Group A and 14th overall in the qualification round.

India’s Tanu Chaudhary suffered a heartbreak in the women’s 400m hurdles heats, placing fifth with a 1:00.03 finish, falling short to qualify for the semifinals.

In the men’s 400m hurdles, Amit Kumar finished last in the heats with a time of 54.01. In the men’s triple jump qualification, Dhanush Raj and P. Royshan failed to progress into the final, registering a best distance of 14.71m and 15.20m, respectively.

Meanwhile, Amanat Kamboj finished sixth in the women’s discus throw final, recording a personal best mark of 53.24m.