Santhosh Kumar Tamilarasan cruised to the men’s 400m hurdles title at the Indian Athletics Series 2026 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, on Sunday, winning by nearly two seconds at the LNCPE Stadium in Kerala.
Santhosh Kumar T, who bagged the 400m hurdles bronze and 4x400m mixed relay gold at the Asian Championships, won the race after clocking 49.91s. Amit Kumar (51.58s) and Vignesh B (51.75s) finished second and third, respectively.
The Indian athlete’s personal best is 49.06 seconds, which he clocked at the Federation Cup earlier this year. The men’s 400m hurdles national record stands at 48.80m, achieved by Ayyasamy Dharun back in 2019.
The men’s long jump was among the standout events of the meet, with David Solomon clinching the title with a personal best of 8.22m to cap off a dramatic contest.
Asian U20 champion Shahnavaz Khan (8.17m) and Jithin Arjunan (8.12m) finished second and third, respectively.
After opening with a foul, Solomon soared to 8.05m in his second attempt to break his personal best and take the early lead. Solomon’s next three attempts resulted in fouls, allowing Shahnavaz to seize the lead momentarily.
However, with the title on the line, Solomon responded with the competition-winning leap in his final attempt to reclaim the lead and secure the title.
Interestingly, Solomon arrived in Thiruvananthapuram with a personal best of 7.94m, a mark he had achieved in 2023 and matched again at the Federation Cup two years later.
His two legal jumps on Sunday – 8.05m and 8.22m – were the first times he had breached the eight-metre barrier and made him India’s all-time fourth-best performer in the event.
Jeswin Aldrin holds the national record in the men’s long jump with 8.42m.
Meanwhile, Vishal TK was pipped to the men’s 200m by Dharmveer Choudhary, who clocked 20.82s to finish first.
Vishal TK finished a close second after clocking 20.88s, while Jay Kumar wasn’t far behind with a time of 20.98s for third.
Elsewhere, Harita Bhadra claimed the women’s 200m title in 23.58s, finishing ahead of Prakruthi Roopa Rao B (23.75s), while Olympian Subha Venkatesan (24.29s) settled for third.
The meet in Thiruvananthapuram was the 10th stop on the 16-leg Indian Athletics Series introduced by the AFI for the 2026 season.
The 11th Indian Athletics Series 2026 is scheduled to be held in Kolkata on Monday, followed by the 12th leg in Surat on Tuesday.
Indian Athletics Series 2026 Thiruvananthapuram winners
- Men’s 200m: 1. Dharmveer Choudhary (20.82s); 2. Vishal TK (20.88s); 3. Jay Kumar (20.98s)
- Women’s 200m: Harita Bhadra (23.58s); 2. Prakruthi Roopa Rao B (23.75s); 3. Subha Venkatesan (24.29s)
- Men’s 400m hurdles: 1. Santhosh Kumar T (49.91s); 2. Amit Kumar (51.58s); 3. Vignesh B (51.75s)
- Women’s 400m hurdles: 1. Tanu Chaudhary (59.15s); 2. Harshitha R (1:00.53); 3. Deekshitha Ramakrishna (1:00.67)
- Men’s 800m: 1. Pradeep Senthilkumar (1:47.09s); 2. Mogali Venkatram (1:48.77s); 3. Abhishek Pal (2:00.83s)
- Women’s 800m: 1. Gowthami Jayaraman (2:08.00s)
- Men’s triple jump: 1. Gailey Venister (16.38m); 2. Vishal Bahadur (16.10m); 3. Dinesh V (15.62m)
- Women’s triple jump: 1. Aleena T Saji (12.87m); 2. Pavithra G (12.84m); 3. Janice Tressa Regi (12.71m)
- Men’s 110m hurdles: 1. Manav R (13.85s); 2. A Graceson Jeeva (13.96s); 3. Shahul S (14.14s)
- Women’s 100m hurdles: 1. Nandhini K (13.42s); 2. Anjali C (13.85s); 3. Shiny Gladssia (14.18s)
- Men’s 100m: 1. Gitson I (10.51s); 2. Sam Vasanth (10.60s); 3. Shandosh P (10.70s)
- Women’s 100m: 1. Giridharani Ravikumar (11.61s); 2. Prakruthi Roopa Rao B (11.65s); 3. Suba Dharsini S (11.70s)
- Men’s 400m: 1. Manu TS (46.24s); 2. Theerthesh Shetty (46.59s); 3. Santhosh Kumar T (46.73s)
- Women’s 400m: 1. Rashdeep Kaur (53.32s); 2. Saloni Kumari (53.64s); 3. Devyaniba Mahendras (53.89s)
- Men’s high jump: 1. Basant (2.19m); 2. Jesse Sandesh (2.13m); 3. Aromal T (2.10m)
- Women’s high jump:1. Pooja Singh (1.81m); 2. Giji George Stephen (1.64m); 3. Saliha K. H. (1.60m)
- Men’s long jump: David Solomon (8.22m); 2. Shahnavaz Khan (8.17m); 3. Jithin Arjunan R.C (8.12m)
- Women’s long jump: Bhavani Yadav (6.61m); 2. Mubassina Mohammed (6.39m); 3. Kusuma Ravada (6.39m)
READ MORE: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/indian-athletics-series-2026-thiruvananthapuram-report-results
