The 30th edition of the junior nationals of the Athletic Federation of India (AFI), the biggest athletic event in the country, will be held for the third time at the Indira Gandhi Municipal Stadium from November 25 to 30. More than 2,500 athletes will take part in the event. Earlier, the city hosted the event in 2004 and 2007.
For AP, the event will be challenging, as it is the first major sporting extravaganza in the State post-bifurcation. “We do not have any equipment and infrastructure, but we are confident of conducting the event successfully,” said AP Athletic Association secretary V. Raghavendra.
The athletic fraternity is looking forward to the event, as the future faces of Indian athletics will be identified in the meet. “Stars like Tinku Luka, Mrudhula and Sowjanya were spotted in the earlier junior nationals. It is a platform for youngsters to draw the attention of senior coaches and administrators,” said Sports Authority of India senior coach Vinayak Prasad.
He added that athletes for junior Asia, youth world and youth Commonwealth meets would be selected during the event. “As many as 108 events, both track and field segments, will be staged in four age groups – under-14, 16 ,18 and 20,” he said.
Mr. Raghavendra added that efforts were on to lay a synthetic track (400m) at the IGMC Stadium. He said bifurcation had hit athletics hard, as along with the Gachibowli stadium, even international standard equipment remained in Telangana. “We do not have even a hurdle,” Mr. Raghavendra added.
Mr. Vinayak Prasad, who has trained several national athletes, is happy with the performance of AP athletes in the recently-concluded South Zone edition in Hyderabad. “We won four gold, four silver and nine bronze even without proper facilities,” he said.
