Stretchered off the track in February, Abinaya Rajarajan breaks U20 100m record by clocking 11.34 seconds

19-year-old Abinaya Rajarajan overcame a tough period to set the U20 national record for women's 100 metres by clocking 11.34 seconds at the World Athletics Continental Tour Silver meet in Bhubaneswar on August 22. Abinaya pulled out Cristiano Ronaldo's 'Siuu' celebration as she surpassed her expectations at the meet.

Earlier, in February 2026, Abinaya had suffered a knee injury at the Asian Indoor Championships in Tianjin, China. As she couldn't decelerate and fell into the crash pads, it led to an ACL, meniscus and patella injury. The injuries forced her to be on the sidelines for three months.

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In her absence, her national record of 11.54 was bettered by Nipam at the Junior Federation in Tumkur at the Junior Federation Cup 2026 in April 2026. Nipam broke it by the barest of margins, 0.01 seconds.

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A few months later as Abinaya finished the race, she was sure that she had reclaimed the record but was surprised by the time she recorded.

“I was about to cry at the end of the race, because I knew I was going to break the national record (U20). I expected a time of 11.40 seconds but 11.34 is crazy. I want to thank my coach, my physio and my dad, who is my hero, for supporting me when I was down,” Abinaya told the Indian Express.

The teenager was happy to make a national record-breaking comeback. She recalled how she was taken off the field on a stretcher. She had tried to brave the injury and run but she was in no condition to walk, let alone run. 

Before the event in Bhubaneswar, she had ran in three races. She was able to find form in Thiruvananthapuram at Indian Athletics Series 10, where she clocked 11.84 seconds.

She was high-on confidence and was already visualising how she would imitate the Portuguese star's celebration.

“I had a crazy hunger to win here. Before the race, I was visualising how I would break the national record, how I would celebrate by doing the Ronaldo Siuuu. I decided that if I win gold I would celebrate like Ronaldo,” she said.