Para National athletics from March 26

The event will serve as a qualification event for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics

February 29, 2020 08:03 pm | Updated 08:03 pm IST

Around 1,600 athletes from 28 States will compete in the 19th Para National athletics championship, which commences at the Chamundi Vihar Stadium at Mysuru on March 26.

The event, approved by the International Paralympic Committee, will serve as a qualification event for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games, Deepa Malik, Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) President said at a press conference here on Saturday.

The PCI, meanwhile, is confident that the Sports Ministry will soon revoke the suspension imposed on the body last year.

Regardless of the status of the PCI, it will not stop Indian athletes from competing in the Paralympics, PCI Secretary-General Gursharan Singh stated.

“The PCI is recognised by the IPC, which is the only criteria for Paralympics qualification. So an Indian para-athlete who qualifies for the Paralympics will compete under the Indian flag. The only disadvantage of being suspended by the Sports Ministry is that the PCI is not entitled to funds from the Ministry,” Gursharan explained.

The PCI is also arranging for para-athletes to compete in various international competitions to achieve the Paralympics qualification mark, Gursharan said.

The Mysuru championship, consisting of track and field events, will witness top prospects in action like T. Mariyappan (2016 Paralympics high jump gold medallist), Varun Singh Bhati (2016 Paralympics high jump bronze) and Sundar Singh Gurjar (2019 World Para Championship javelin gold).

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.