New Delhi, Dec 1 (PTI) The domestic athletics season of 2023 will kick-start at Kaziranga National Park in Assam with the National Cross Country Championships to be held there from January 7 to 8.
Athletics Federation of India (AFI) on Thursday said that the pristine Kaziranga National Park will be a location from where it will launch its 2023 competition schedule.
“The 57th National Cross Country Championships will be run on a course in Kaziranga on January 7 and 8. It will be the first of the 18 National-level competitions that AFI will conduct next year,” the national federation said in a release.
Jharkhand has been allotted with two of the three national level senior championships, including the Inter-State Championships in Ranchi from July 26-30, 2023, which is expected to be the qualifying event for the Asian Games next year.
Another Jharkhand city, Jamshedpur will host the National Open Athletics Championships from October 11-14 while the Federation Cup Senior Championships will be held in Bhubaneswar from June 12 to 15.
The Federation Cup was held in March-April in the last few years but this time it will be staged in June.
AFI President Adille Sumariwalla said the federation was particularly happy that its flagship National Inter-District Junior Athletics Meet (NIDJAM) would be back on the annual calendar after a three-year gap due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are excited that Bihar has come forward to support NIDJAM in a big way and will host it in Patna,” he said.
Sumariwalla said the domestic calendar has been prepared with an eye on international competitions in 2023.
“We have many events in which our athletes can showcase the progress being made. AFI is confident that Indian athletics will continue to grow in the right direction and trajectory,” he said.
The World Race Walking Team Championships in Muscat (March 4 and 5) would be the first major meet for the Indians. The Asian Championships in Pattaya, Thailand (July 12 to 16) assumes importance as the winners get direct qualification for the World Championships in Budapest (August 19 to 27).
The Asian Games is scheduled to be held in Hangzhou, China from September 23 to October 8.
National Competition Schedule: January 7-8: 57th National Cross Country Championships, Kaziranga National Park, Assam January 12-14: 18th National Inter-District Junior Athletics Meet, Patna, Bihar February 14-15: 10th Indian Open Race Walking Competition, Ranchi, Jharkhand March 1: 2nd Indian Open Throws Competition, IIS Bellary, Karnataka March 2: 2nd Indian Open Jumps Competition, IIS Bellary, Karnataka March 5-6: 4th Indian Open 400m Competition, LNCPE, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala March 10 to 12: 18th National Youth Athletics Championships, Udupi, Karnataka March 20: Indian Grand Prix 1, LNCPE, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala March 27: Indian Grand Prix 2, LNCPE, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala April 2: Indian Grand Prix 3, Bengaluru, Karnataka April 10: Indian Grand Prix 4, Bengaluru, Karnataka May 15-17: 21st Junior Federation Cup Championships, Thiruvannamali, Tamil Nadu June 12-15: 26th Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships, Bhubaneswar, Odisha July 26-30: 62nd National Inter-State Athletics Championships, Ranchi, Jharkhand August 7: 2nd National Javelin Day (Neeraj Chopra’s Olympic victory day) September 10: Indian Grand Prix 5, NIS Patiala, Punjab October 11-14: 62nd National Open Athletics Championships, Jamshedpur, Jharkhand October 29-31: 3rd Indian Open U23 Athletics Championships, Chandigarh November 4-7: 38th National Junior Athletics Championships, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
Source: PTI News
