Sreeshankar, Sable to take part in National Games

NEW DELHI: A host of the track and field stars, including steepleschaser Avinash Sable and long jumper Murali Sreeshankar, will take part in the upcoming National Games with athletics set to field most number of participants among the 36 sports.

The Games are scheduled to be held in Gujarat from September 29. Though Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and Commonwealth Games triple jump gold medallist Eldhose Paul have decided to give the Games a miss, there are still some top athletes taking part in the multi-sport event, held after a gap of seven years.

Annu Rani, who became the first Indian female javelin thrower to win a medal (bronze) in the CWG, will represent Uttar Pradesh.

Star women sprinters Hima Das and Dutee Chand will run for Assam and Odisha respectively. Dutee had won a gold in 100m and bronze in 200m in the last edition of the National Games in Kerala in 2015. Hima will bid for her maiden medal in the National Games.

Assam’s Amlan Borgohain, who recently bettered the men’s 100m national record in a Railways meet, and women’s 100m hurdles national record holder, Jyothi Yarraji of Andhra Pradesh, are also participating in the Games.

An athlete can achieve an automatic qualification for the 2023 World Championships in Hungary on the basis of National Games performance. “Yes, I am taking part in the National Games,” Sreeshankar said.