Rachita Mistry née Panda (born 4 March 1974) is an Indian professional sprinter from

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

. She held the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

national record of 11.38 seconds set at the National Circuit Athletic Meet held in

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

on 12 August 2000 for 13 years until it was bettered in 2013 by Merlin K. Joseph. Rachita set her personal best time of 11.26 s for 100 metres in

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

on 5 July 2001 and in the process she broke

P. T. Usha Pilavullakandi Thekkeraparambil Usha (born 27 June 1964) is a retired Indian track and field athlete. She was born in Kuthali, Kozhikode, Kerala. She has been associated with Indian athletics since 1979. She has won 4 Asian gold medals and 7 S ...

's long standing mark of 11.39 s set during the 1985 Asian Championships in Athletics in

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. However, following some controversies, the Amateur Athletic Federation of India (AAFI) did not ratify the national record on the ground that no dope tests had been carried out during the meet. AAIF, however, clarified that the performances of the athletes who set the National record during the 2000 National Circuit Meet would be allowed to stand as their personal bests. Rachita represented India in

4 x 100 metres relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest ...

together with

, E. B. Shyla, and Saraswati Saha at the

1998 Asian Championships in Athletics The 12th Asian Championships in Athletics were held in Fukuoka, Japan in July 1998. Medal summary Men Women Medal table See also * 1998 in athletics (track and field) External linksGBR Athletics {{asian athletics champs Asian Athle ...

where her team won the gold medal on way to setting the current national record of 44.43 s. Later in the

at 2000 Sydney Olympics her team - consisting of V. Jayalakshmi, Vinita Tripathi, and Saraswati Saha - clocked a time of 45.20 s in the first round. The team finished last in their heats. Rachita is also a former National record holder in the 200 metre sprint. She set the 200 m record on 31 July 2000, at

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, with a run of 23.10 seconds. In doing so, she broke the previous record held by

. Rachita's 200 metres record was later replaced by Saraswati Saha in August 2002. In 1998, she was conferred the

Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, one ...

for her contribution to the Indian athletics.

Achievements

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mistry, Rachita 1974 births Living people People from Rourkela Athletes from Odisha Sportswomen from Odisha Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of India Indian female sprinters Athletes from Mumbai Recipients of the Arjuna Award Athletes (track and field) at the 1998 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Asian Games Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Asian Games bronze medalists for India Medalists at the 1998 Asian Games Olympic female sprinters 20th-century Indian women 20th-century Indian people