BHUBANESWAR, Aug 9: Home favourites Annu Rani, Animesh Kujur and Murali Sreeshankar will spearhead the country’s challenge when India’s maiden World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze level competition gets underway at the Kalinga Stadium, here on Sunday.
The one-day meet, carrying a prize purse of USD 25,000, has drawn over 150 athletes from more than 15 countries.
The seasoned javelin thrower and 2023 Asian Games champion, Annu Rani will be buoyed by a 62.59-metre throw in Poland earlier this month. Ranked 30th in the Road to Tokyo World Championships list, the 32-year-old from Uttar Pradesh is confident of clearing 60m again in familiar Bhubaneswar conditions.
“I think a throw of 62.59m during Continental Tour in Poland has come at the right time,” Annu said on Saturday.
“I would like to add some distance to my performance in the next two weeks. I’m used to Bhubaneswar’s local weather conditions… I should be able to do my best,” she added.
Of the top 36 throwers eligible to compete at Worlds in September, 11 athletes have achieved automatic qualification mark of 64m in the women’s javelin throw till date.
The remaining 25 athletes are through the world ranking quota system as per the World Athletics qualification guidelines.
The deadline for athletes to achieve automatic qualification time or mark in their respective events for the World Athletics Championships in Japan is August 24.
They can also earn tickets to the Worlds via the world ranking quota system.
The national 200m record-holder Animesh Kujur (20.32s) sits 42nd in the world rankings, with the top 48 earning Tokyo berths.
The 21-year-old sprinter is hoping the home track will push him closer to the 20.16s automatic qualifying mark.
“I’m looking forward to gaining home advantage on Sunday,” Kujur said of his plans for Continental Tour in Bhubaneswar.
“My focus for Sunday will be only 200m.” The men’s 100m dash may also see some spark as Kujur, who holds the national record of 10.18 seconds, will be up against Malaysia’s Muhammad Azeem Fahli who ran wind-assisted 10.01 seconds and a legal 10.20 seconds, both in May.
Long jumper Murali Sreeshankar, fresh from three straight titles since his comeback, will look to strengthen his world ranking and fine-tune for major championships ahead.
The meet will also feature India’s women’s long jump stars Shaili Singh (season’s best 6.64m) and Ancy Sojan (6.54m), Asian Championships 800m record-holder Mohammed Afsal, and a high-quality men’s javelin field led by Asian silver medallist Sachin Yadav and Sri Lanka’s 85m throwers Sumeda Ranasinghe and Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage.
Heats will be conducted in the morning session and the main event will commence in the evening. (PTI)