Lots to play for at inter-state meet
While five athletes have already surpassed the automatic qualifying mark in their respective disciplines, several others are in contention to qualify via the world-ranking route.
While Avinash Sable has been ruled out due to an injury, the others who have breached the Worlds marks are Neeraj Chopra (men's javelin), Parul Chaudhary (women's 3000m steeplechase), Praveen Chithravel (men's triple jump) and Gulveer Singh (men's 5000m).
Focus on javelin
Since Neeraj has received a wildcard entry to the Worlds as the reigning champion, India can field three more javelin throwers at the global event. The inter-state meet presents an opportunity for Sachin Yadav, Yashvir Singh and Rohit Yadav to make the cut. Sachin is sitting comfortably at the 22nd position in the 'Road to Tokyo' standings, while Yashvir is 30th. A good performance here will all but see Yashvir seal his berth, with Rohit having an uphill task as he is placed well below the threshold.
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On the women's side, Annu Rani is slowly getting into her groove after recording multiple 60m+ throws.
Racewalker Servin gives the competition a miss
Asian Championships bronze medallist Servin Sebastian (20km), who is well within the qualification standard for the Worlds, will not compete as the competition does not offer world-ranking points for the race walking events.
'As there is hardly a month for the World Championships, we wanted Servin to rest and train.
Had he competed in the inter-state event, he would have needed three weeks for recovery. So, we wanted him to be fresh for Tokyo,' Servin's coach Ganapathi told TOI.
Another chance for Animesh to impress
Youngster Animesh Kujur has raised the ceiling of Indian sprinting. Animesh, the owner of national records in both 100m and 200m, is likely to qualify for the Worlds in 200m as he is ranked 42nd in the 'Road to Tokyo'. A good performance here could seal the deal for the 22-year-old.
Meanwhile, as the relay teams (men's and women's 400m) will not qualify for the Worlds, the inter-state meet will merely be a 'practice run' for the quarter-milers. 'We were expecting the relay teams to qualify, but it is unfortunate to see them not do it. We initially thought that we might have a chance to qualify via the inter-state but that does not look possible,' India head coach Radhakrishnan Nair said.
This is an important competition for Sreeshankar Murali (men's long jump), who can qualify directly by entry standard. After an injury break, Sreeshankar has breached the 8m mark on multiple occasions and it remains to be seen if he can qualify directly via the qualification standard (8.27m).
The other athletes who are in contention include Sarvesh Kushare (men's high jump) and Ankita Dhyani (women's steeplechase).
Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
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