Kozhikode, Apr 1 (Sports News) Ace long jumper M Sreeshankar, shot putter Tajinder Pal Singh Toor along with sprinters Hima Das and Dutee Chand will seek to grab the spotlight in the Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships which begins here on Saturday.

As expected, Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will not take part in the championships as he seeks to train abroad and prepare for top events like the Diamond League Meetings in search for a medal in the World Championships in Eugene, USA, in July.

More than 500 athletes, including 158 women, will vie for top honours in the five-day event, the season's first major domestic championships with the Commonwealth Games, World Championships and Asian Games lining up later in the season.

Discus thrower Kamalpreet Kaur, who finished sixth in the Tokyo Olympics last year, has also decided to skip the championships as the knee problem she had even during the Tokyo Olympics has "aggravated" while winning gold at the Indian Grand Prix II in Thiruvananthapuram on March 23.

"The knee injury which I had during the Tokyo Olympics has not healed completely. I think it aggravated when I took part and won gold in Indian GP II. So I am not taking part in the Federation Cup," Kaur told PTI from her training base at NIS Patiala.

"Let us see when I can return. I should be fine soon and I am sure I will take part in the National Inter-State Championships in June." Men's 3000m steeplechaser Avinash Sable, who recently broke his own national record, will not be taking part in his pet event, but will be running in the 5000m race. He has already qualified for the World Championships 3000m steeplechase.

National record holders Toor and Sreeshankar will be hoping to produce better performances than their efforts in the World Athletics Indoor Championships last month.

Sreeshankar had come up with a decent show, finishing seventh with 7.92m but Toor flopped as all his three attempts were fouls to record a 'No Mark' against himself.

National record holder in men's 400m, Muhammed Anas Yahiya is not taking part in the event as he is yet to fully recover from an injury he sustained last year.

In good news, national record holder and 2018 Asian Games 1500m gold medallist Jinson Johnson will return to action after a long injury and COVID-related lay-off.

The National Open Throws Meet in Patiala, the National Open Jumps meet as well as two Indian Grands Prix in Thiruvananthapuram have served as ideal beginning to the season but the Federation Cup will give the athletes and their coaches the opportunity to assess their form and work towards peaking in this year's three international meets, including the World Championships.

The AFI has laid down qualifying standards for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games and Asian Games in Hangzhou. And some of those who have not already attained them will be straining their every sinew to achieve these standards. This will make the Federation Cup an interesting meet to track.

Rising sprinter Amlan Borgohain will seek to establish his credentials in the men's 200m while veteran Arpinder Singh has also entered in the fray in men's triple jump.

The women's 100m race will be one of the events to look out for with national record holder Dutee up aginst Hima Das.

But surprisingly, Tamil Nadu's S Dhanalakshmi, who has beaten Dutee in 100m and Hima in 200m recently, is missing. Dutee has also entered her name only in 100m dash while Hima will compete in both 100m and 200m.

Up and coming Priya Mohan has also decided to compete only in 200m and not in 400m in which she had won gold in both the Indian GP I and II last month.

Harmilans Bains, who set a national record in women's 1500m race during the National Open Championships last year, is also missing.

Rising long jumper Shaili Singh, who won a silver in the U-20 World Championships last year, is also skipping the event as she is yet to hit top form after COVID-19 infection in January.

There are three gold medals on offer on the opening day on Saturday. Besides the 10000m events for both men and women in the morning, the women’s pole vault will be contested in the afternoon.

The men's 25-lapper event could see an intense contest. Kartik Kumar, Abhishek Pal, Dharmender, Murli Kumar Gavit and Narendra Pratap Singh will look to top the 26-runner field.

Sanjivani Babur Jadhav, who posted a victory in the National Inter-State Championships in Warangal last year, will battle with Kavita Yadav for honours in the women's race.

The women’s pole vault competition promises a keen contest, despite the absence of V Pavithra, who earlier this year became only the fourth Indian woman to clear 4.00m when winning the Inter-University Championships in Bhubaneshwar.

Pooja, who fell short of that mark by 5cm, P Rosy Meena and Baranica Elangovan can draw attention to the Pole Vault pit.

There will be much interest in the men and women's 100m, 1500m heats as well as men's long jump qualifying round where Sreeshankhar and Muhammed Anees Yahiya can be expected to be joined by Jeswin Aldrin in leading the list of those making it to the final. 

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News Source : PTI