Dileep breaks national decathlon record

Six national junior records tumbled on the penultimate day of 28th national junior athletics championships, with Dileep Kumar of Andhra Pradesh erasing a 12-year-old decathlon mark with a record total. Dileep became the first Indian junior to total 7000 points in decathlon as he finished the 10-event competition with 7020 points. The decathlete, who trains at Army Sports Institute in Pune, bettered the old mark of 6866 points held by Brameshwar Nath of Bihar for the last 12 years. Uttar Pradesh girl Nisha Yadav also set a national record in youth girls’ hammer throw event with an effort of 54.39m. The previous record-holder, Bhawana from Haryana, finished third while Himachal Pradesh’s Deepa Kumari claimed the silver.