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

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

Career

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 contested at ...

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

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...

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 Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

on 5 July 2001 and in the process she broke P. T. Usha's long standing mark of 11.39 s set during the 1985 Asian Championships in Athletics in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

. 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 a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. Evolution of the Hi ...

together with P. T. Usha, E. B. Shyla, and Saraswati Saha at the

1998 Asian Championships in Athletics The 12th Asian Championships in Athletics were held in Fukuoka, Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japa ...

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

2000 Sydney Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

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 The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

sprint. She set the 200 m record on 31 July 2000, at

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

, with a run of 23.10 seconds. In doing so, she broke the previous record held by P. T. Usha. 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 given 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 Arjun ...

for her contribution to the Indian athletics.

Achievements

National titles

*All-India Open National Championships **100 m: 1998 *All-India Inter State Championships **100 m: 1998, 2000 **200 m: 2000 *Indian National Games **100 m: 1997

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 for 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 bronze medalists for India Asian Games athletes for India Medalists at the 1998 Asian Games Olympic female sprinters Asian Athletics Championships winners 20th-century Indian women 20th-century Indian people Asian Games bronze medalists in athletics (track and field)