The absence of Olympic javelin throw champion Neeraj Chopra notwithstanding, there will be no lack of star power as the country’s remaining top track and field athletes vie for Paris Olympics berths during the National Inter-State Championships beginning here on Thursday.
The championships will serve as the final qualifying event for the upcoming Paris Games where the athletics events begin on August 1. Incidentally, the final day of the four-day championships -- June 30 -- also coincides with the Olympics qualifying window deadline.
Chopra will skip the championships as there is only a few days gap before the Paris Diamond League on July 7, in which he is set to compete. He competed in the Federation Cup in Bhubaneswar last month, winning a gold.
Last month, Athletics Federation of India (AFI) president Adille Sumariwalla had made it clear that except for Chopra, it will be mandatory for all the other athletes to participate in the National Inter-State Championships to get selected for the Paris Olympics.
AFI rules state that all the athletes will have to participate in the National Inter-State Championships if they have to get selected for major multi-sport events like the Olympics, Asian Games or the Commonwealth Games, unless the federation gives exemption on the request of particular athletes or their coaches.
In the absence of Chopra, the likes of Avinash Sable (men’s 3000m steeplechase), Kishore Jena (men’s javelin throw), Ram Baboo (men’s 20km race walk) and Parul Chaudhary (women’s 3000m steeplechase) -- all of whom have booked Paris Games berths by breaching the qualifying standards -- will headline the championships.
Other athletes who can book Paris ticket through world ranking quota like Jyothi Yarraji (women’s 100m hurdles), Annu Rani (women’s javelin throw), DP Manu (men’s javelin throw), Tajinderpal Singh Toor (men’s shot put), Jeswin Aldrin (men’s long jump), Praveen Chitravel and Abdulla Aboobacker (both men’s triple jump) have also entered their names.
Toor, an Asian record holder till a few days back, told PTI on Tuesday that he is dealing with a slight ankle pain and his doctor told him not to throw for three-four weeks. But his name figured in Wednesday’s updated entry list of the AFI.
Some of rising stars like sprinter Animesh Kujur, 110m hurdler Tejas Shirse -- who recently set the national record -- and long jumper Shaili Singh are also set to be seen in action.
National record holder Manikanta Hoblidhar is also set to be back in action after missing the Federation Cup and his 100m dash duel with Kujur, Amlan Borgohain and Gurindervir Singh for the tag of the country’s fastest man will be interesting to watch though none of them are likely to make it to Paris.
Federation Cup 200m gold medallist Kujur will also be up against national record holder Borgohain in another duel.
Almost all the members of the Indian men’s and women’s 4x400m relay teams that had booked Paris berths will feature in the individual quarter-mile events.
National record holder 20km race walker Akshdeep Singh, who has also breached the Paris Games qualifying mark, is missing from the entry list. Women’s 20km race walk national record holder Priyanka Goswami, who has also qualified for Paris Olympics, is not in the list.
The opening day will see just three finals -- women’s hammer throw, men’s and women’s 500m races.
A few athletes from Sri Lanka and Maldives are also taking part in the championships.
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