Indian track athlete K M Deeksha set a new national record in the women’s 1500m while Avinash Sable finished second in men’s 5000m event at the Sound Running Track Fest in Los Angeles.
The 25-year-old Deeksha finished third in the final on Saturday after running the distance in 4:04.78, bettering the previous record of 4:05.39 set by Harmilan Bains in 2021 at the National Open Athletics Championships in Warangal.
Deeksha’s previous personal best was a 4:06.07 set in the final of the National Inter-State Athletics Championships at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar in 2023, where she upstaged Bains to win gold.
Deeksha who is from Amroha, UP has been part of the MP Athletics academy for the last five years training under coach S K Prasad.
Parul Chaudhary ran 15:10.69s in the women’s 5000m to finish fifth. Parul narrowly missed out on improving her national record while compatriot Ankita ended 10th with a time of 15:28.88.
Sable finished second in the men’s 5000m with a time of 13:20.37 and not his pet 3000m steeplechase event, and in the same event, Gulveer Singh ran a 13:31.95.