AFI to conduct trials to pick Indian squad for next month's Race Walking Team Challenge in Oman

The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) will conduct trials shortly to select the national squad for next month’s World Athletics Race Walking Team Challenge in Oman.

It will be a good opportunity for the Indian squad to rub shoulders with the best in the business as teams from across the globe are expected to compete in Muscat. The competition is scheduled to be held on March 4-5.

According to a senior AFI official, since the national competition couldn’t be organized earlier this month in Jharkhand due to the pandemic, national selection trials will be held to shortlist the Indian team for the Muscat competition.

Olympian Priyanka Goswami and Sandeep Kumar are among the elite athletes attending the national race walking camp in progress at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) Bengaluru Training Center.

Uttar Pradesh’s 25-year-old Priyanka was among several athletes looking forward to the February 5-6 National Open Race Walking Championships in Ranchi. But the event was postponed due to a surge in COVID-19 cases in Jharkhand. The National Race Walk competition is now scheduled for April.

“It’s good that AFI is planning to send teams for the Muscat competition," one of the elite athletes attending the national camp in Bengaluru told Sportskeeda. "It will be a good opportunity to test our mettle early in the season."

Apart from the Eugene World Athletics Championships, Birmingham Commonwealth Games and Asian Games are two major competitions this year.

World U20 silver medalist in men’s 10km Amit Khatri is also at the national camp in Bengaluru.

Army’s two-time Olympian KT Irfan is training with a group of athletes at the high altitude of Ooty in Tamil Nadu. International race walker Chandan Singh is among the group as well.

“Our training is going on expected lines," said one of Army’s athletes from Ooty. "We hope to perform well to earn a berth for the national team."