Cuttack: Two budding Indian sprinters died after their motorcycle skidded and crashed into an iron barricade on NH-16 near Phulnakhara between Bhubaneswar and Cuttack late on Wednesday night. Police said both were riding without helmets. The deceased were identified as Mrutyam Jayaram Dondapati (21) and Malaya Barik (20). They were travelling to Cuttack for Durga Puja festivities when the accident occurred around 10.30 pm near a Toyota showroom at Telengapentha.Police said the motorcycle, allegedly travelling at high speed, skidded and threw the riders against a highway barricade on the left side of the road. Residents alerted police. “On reaching the spot, we found the two lying near the NH barricade. We rescued them and rushed them to SCB Medical College and Hospital, where doctors declared them brought dead,” said DCP Khilari Rishikesh Dnyandeo.A case was registered at Sadar police station. Postmortems were conducted on Thursday and the bodies handed over to their families. Further investigation is on, police said. Mrutyam from Kalahandi district had won gold medals in the men’s 100m and 200m events at the Indian Open U-23 Athletics Competition in 2025. Barik, from Bargarh district, was a 400m runner who represented Odisha in state and national-level competitions. Both trained at the High Performance Centres at Kalinga Stadium Sports Complex in Bhubaneswar.Forum for Prevention of Road Accidents president Bikash Mohapatra said stricter enforcement of helmet rules could have averted the tragedy. Chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi expressed grief over the deaths on X, describing them as a profound loss to Odisha’s sporting fraternity and extending condolences to their families.