NEW DELHI: Rising Indian track and field star Rezoana Mallick Heena of Bengal on Monday came up with an outstanding effort as she clocked faster time than a senior runner in the same event during the National Open 400m Championships in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday.
Heena achieved the feat after registering a time of 53.22 seconds to set the national record in girls' U-16 400m.
Heena's time is better than U-20 winner Priya Mohan (53.55) of Karnataka and senior champion Dandi Jyothika Sri (53.26) of Andhra Pradesh.
Heena also trains under Priya Mohan's coach Arjun Ajay.
In November last year, Heena had set the girls' Under-16 national record in 300m with a time of 38.57 during the AFI National Junior Athletics Championships in Guwahati.
Muhammed Ajmal of Kerala clocked 46.90 seconds to win the men's 400m final. Rahul Ramesh Kadam of Maharashtra was second in a time of 47.51, while Santosh Kumar of Tamil Nadu was third, clocking 47.72.
Aishwarya Mishra of Maharashtra was second in seniors' race with 53.49 while Kiran Pahal of Haryana clocked 54.29 to finish third at the LNCPE.
(With inputs from PTI)