Buldhana's Nayan wins SAAF junior silver, secures maiden international medal in athletics

NAGPUR: Merely a month after making his debut for India, Buldhana sprinter Nayan Sarde brought laurels to the nation. Trained and groomed in Nagpur, the 20-year-old Nayan secured his first international medal in Chennai on Thursday. Despite a nervous start, Nayan clinched the silver medal in the 110m hurdles at the South Asian Athletics Federation (SAAF) Junior Championships.


Following the disqualification of his compatriot Hariharan for a false start, Nayan opted for a cautious approach and had a relatively slow beginning. He accelerated after the fourth hurdle and completed the 110m race in 14.14 seconds. Sri Lanka’s WP Sandun Koshala clinched the gold medal with a timing of 14.06.

“I am very happy to win my first international medal and make my parents and coaches proud. Although it’s a silver medal, it holds special significance for me. My first national medal was also a silver, which I had secured in 2022 during the youth U-18 championships in Bhopal. Just like my progress at the national level after that silver, I hope this medal will be a lucky charm for me to excel for my country,” an ecstatic Nayan told TOI from Chennai.

Nayan added, “I aspired to perform better at the World Championships on my international debut last month. Due to the weather conditions and time difference, my body didn’t respond optimally, and I gave a poor timing of 14.60 seconds. With favourable weather here in Chennai, I was determined to match my personal best timing of 14.11s, but I got a bit disturbed when Hariran was disqualified and started a bit slow.”

The son of head constable Pradip and homemaker Sangita, Nayan, a protege of Samsher Khan, became the first Nagpur sprinter to represent India in the U-20 World Athletics Championships in Lima, Peru, last month.

“My journey as an athlete began at the age of 14. At that time, I used to run 400m. When I was selected for Nagpur’s Krida Prabodhini in 2019, my coach Samsher Khan transformed me into a sprinter and I started competing in the 110m hurdle race. Since then, I have won a total of six national medals and this is my first international medal. I hope to do well in the 2025 World University Games and aim to qualify for the World Championships in 2026,” Nayan signed off.

Deputy director of the department of sports, Nagpur division, Shekhar Patil, secretary of Nagpur District Athletics Association Sharad Suryawanshi, and others congratulated Nayan for his achievement.



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