![]() Rachita Mistry held the 100 metres national record of 11.38 seconds set at the National Circuit Athletic Meet held in Thiruvananthapuram on 12 August 2000 for 13 years until it was bettered in 2013 by Merlin K. Joseph. Rachita Mistry set her personal best time of 11.26 s for 100 metres in Bangalore (Bengaluru) on 5 July 2001. In that competition, she broke the long standing mark of PT Usha. It was 11.39s set during the 1985 Asian Championships in Athletics in Jakarta. 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. Amateur Athletic Federation of India (AAFI) 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. This Indian professional sprinter represented India in 4 X 100 metres relay together with Pilavullakandi Thekkeparambil Usha (who is better known as Payyoli Express ), E. B. Shyla, and Saraswati Saha at the 1998 Asian Championships in Athletics where her team won the gold medal on way to setting the current national record of 44.43s. Later in the 4 x 100 metres relay at 2000 Sydney Olympics, the team of Rachita Mistry - 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 Mistry is also a former National record holder in the 200 metre sprint. Rachita Mistry set the 200 m record on 31 July 2000, at Chennai, with a run of 23.10 seconds. In doing so, Rachita Mistry broke the previous record held by P. T. Usha. The 200 metres record of Rachita Mistry was later replaced by Saraswati Saha in August 2002. In 1998, Rachita Mistry was conferred the Arjuna Award for her contribution to the Indian athletics. |