The Athletics Federation of India has scheduled the 4th Indian Grand Prix for June 21 at NS-NIS Patiala.
There had been uncertainty over the event with the federation hoping to arrange competitions abroad for Indian athletes ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, but the travel restrictions and quarantine rules in most countries forced it to explore other options.
A 40-member national team was expected to travel to Kyrgyzstan (T. Kolpakova International Competition in Bishkek) and Kazakhstan (Qosanov Memorial in Almaty) later this month. However, the AFI was informed of a mandatory 14-day isolation for those arriving from India, regardless of a negative PCR test or vaccination certificate, forcing the AFI to drop the idea.
"We do not want to impact the training schedule of our athletes by making them go through a long quarantine process with six weeks left for the Olympic Games. We will focus on providing them with good competition in the Indian Grand Prix and National inter-state Championships from 25-29th June in Patiala," AFI president Adille Sumariwalla said.
The worst affected athletes of the severe restrictions and cancellations have been shotputter Tajinder Pal Singh Toor and javelin thrower Annu Rani, besides the 4x100m women's relay team, all on the fringe of qualifying.
List of events: Men: 400m, 1500m, Long Jump, Triple Jump, Shot Put, Javelin Throw, 400m Hurdles; Women: 100m, 200m, 400m, 1500m, 5000m, Discus Throw, Javelin Throw, 4x100m relay.
