LUCKNOW, June 30 -- Meerut's athletes are asserting themselves increasingly on the national - and now international - stage, and the results at the 65th National Interstate Senior Athletic Championship offer a vivid example of that rise.

Two sprinters and a jumper connected to Meerut's thriving training ecosystem cleared the Asian Games qualifying marks, signalling both individual excellence and the maturation of local coaching, institutions, and talent pathways.

On the women's side, Neeru Pathak clocked 53.47 seconds in the 400m, finishing fourth and comfortably inside the Asian Games qualifying standard of 53.72. Neeru's run is not just a personal breakthrough but it highlights the growing depth of women's sprinting emerging from Meer...