Thiruvananthapuram, March 12: At the start of a season that includes major events such as the Asian and Commonwealth Games, the spotlight will turn to quarter-milers Amoj Jacob, Noah Nirmal Tom and Arokia Rajiv at the Indian Grand Prix 1 Athletics Meet at the Chandrasekharan Nair. Police Stadium here on Sunday.
Amoj, Noah and Rajiv, who were part of the Indian 4x400m relay team that set the Asian record at the Tokyo Olympics last August, as well as Amlan Borgogain and Nalubothu Srinivas will be in action on Sunday. While Amoj Jacob and Noah Nirmal Tom will lead the 400m race, the others will battle it out in the 200m race, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) said in a statement on Saturday.
Similarly, Hima Das, S Dhanalakshmi and AT Daneshwari will compete in the women’s 200m, an event to watch, while Priya H. Mohan, MR Poovamma and Dandi Jyothika Sri may take part in a very competitive 400m at the start. of the season in which the Indian sprinters will try to overcome the disappointment of the women’s team not reaching the Olympics.
Indian sprinters will take center stage as they show off their form early in the season which will see major competitions like World Championships, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.
Long jumper M Sreeshankar will give himself a chance to be consistent in competition before traveling to Belgrade for the World Indoor Championships in Athletics. He will be pushed by the likes of Mohammad Anees Yahiya, who was second in the National Open Jumping Competition by just 2cm, Yugant Shekhar Singh and triple jumpers Eldhose Paul and Praveen Chitravel.
The other men’s event that may see close competition would be the javelin throw where Rohjt Yadav and Sahil Silwal will compete for honours, the statement added.
The women’s long jump hole may see another intense battle with Ancy Sojan, Nayana James and Pooja Saini, while Abha Khatua and Manpreet Kaur will resume their fight for supremacy in the women’s shot put event. Kavita Yadav and Chatru Gumnaram will have to compete in the women’s 5000m to post a good time.
A total of 90 athletes, including 30 women, will compete in 14 events. Ajay Kumar Saroj (Men’s 1500m), Abhishek Pal (Men’s 5000m), Karanveer Singh (Men’s Shot Put), Lili Das (Women’s 1500m) and Sharmila Kumari (Women’s Javelin) will all have to deal with the pressure to participate. in your events as favorites