AFI Media
Bengaluru
More than 900 athletes, including 355 female competitors are expected to compete in the 62nd National Open Athletics Championships that will get underway here from Wednesday at Bengaluru’s Sree Kanteerava Stadium.
In a five-day track and field competition more than 30 affiliate units, including departmental and state teams will compete. While the RSPB (Railways Sports Promotion Board) has a jumbo contingent of 116 athletes, Haryana has a 97-member squad.
The season ending domestic competition has in the past given opportunity to established as well as promising athletes to showcase their potential, the 2023 edition will be no exception.
Way back during 2018 edition of the National Open Athletics Championships held in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, Kerala’s international long jumper Murali Sreeshankar etched his name in the record books by improving national record. “The season ending domestic competition in Bhubaneswar turned out to be a big platform for Sreeshankar as he crossed 8m mark then,” Sreeshankar’s father S Murali said.
Murali, a former international and personal coach of his son (Sreeshankar) said, good performance at the end of the 2018 season was a big boost to the confidence of Sreeshankar.
The Kerala’s long jump won silver at the just concluded 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou and has a personal best of 8.41m recorded in mid-June in Bhubaneswar.
The opening day (Wednesday) will witness top sprinters in men and women’s group battle for top spot in the final.
Apart from preliminary and semifinal rounds in the 100m dash, there are as many as four finals scheduled for the Day-One of the competition.
Hammer throw (women), pole vault (men) and 10,000m track races in both men and women’s are the four events where medals will be distributed on the first day of the competition.
