Five-day meet good chance for youngsters to qualify for Paris Games
BENGALURU: The country's young stars will be in focus after India's superb performance at the Hangzhou Asian Games as the curtains go up for the 62nd National Open Athletics Championships at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium here on Wednesday.
The athletes' focus now shifts to the Paris Olympics, less than a year away, and for the young guns this meet is a good platform to get into the probables' list. Also, there are few experienced athletes who went out of the camp but are eager to show their worth to the national selectors.
"This is an important meet for the young athletes as scouts will be in attendance to recruit fresh talent. It's also a qualifying meet for the Paris Games," coaches said.
Karnataka athletes who will turn out for their home state or their employers, will be looking to make the most of the familiar conditions. The entries from the home contingent include Asiad participants Yashas P (Karnataka, men's 400m hurdles) and Sinchal Kaveramma (Railways, women's 400m hurdles). Manu DP (Services, men's javelin throw) and Abhin B Devadiga (ONGC, men's 200m) will also be in action. "Among those who took part in the Asian Games, only 400m hurdler Vithya Ramraj is expected to be in action here," sources said.
VENUE CHANGE UPSETS TRAVEL PLANS
Meanwhile, the Athletics Federation of India's (AFI) last-minute change in plans continued to affect the travel schedule of India's top athletes. First, the venue change - from Jamshedpur to Bengaluru - meant several athletes lost money due to the cancellation of air or train tickets. The AFI sprang another surprise, extending the four-day meet by a day.
"Due to more entries in the National Open Athletics, it has been decided to increase the duration of the meet for one more day from October 11-15," AFI secretary Ravinder Chaudhry said in a press release on October 7.
Several athletes and coaches were critical of AFI for the change of venue. "Will the AFI reimburse the money which the athletes and coaches lost due to the cancellation of tickets," they asked.
More than 900 athletes, including 355 females, are expected to compete in the meet. The Railways Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) top the list with a 116-member squad. The opening day will see finals in 10,000m (men and women), hammer throw (women) and pole vault (men).
