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What's the story?
The Athletics Federation of India has rescheduled the dates, bearing in mind the June 30 deadline of naming athletics squad for Asian Games and announced the cut-off marks for the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships. The Championships, which will now be held from 26th to 29th June 2018, will decide which athletes will be boarding the plane to Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia for the Asian Games 2018.
"The last date for sending final entries (entry by names) to the Organising Committee for Asian Games is 30 June 2018. And that is the reason we had to advance the national inter-state meet by almost a month. The competition will serve as the final selection trials for the Asian Games 2018," Athletics Federation of India Deputy Chief Coach Radhakrishnan Nair said in a release.
In case you didn't know...
Ahead of the CWG, the AFI had scheduled the final qualification competition a day after the CWG deadline expired. Consequently, Sidharth Yadav (high jump), G Vijayakumari (400m relay) and M Sreeshankar (long jump) had to miss out despite achieving the qualification standards.
Heart of the matter
AFI announced the dates and cut-off marks for the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships on the 29th of April. The event, which is mandatory for all athletes who wish to qualify for the Asian Games, will be held from 26th to 29th June. The event will take place in Guwahati and will give athletes a chance to qualify for the Asian Games.
Participation in the championships is mandatory for all athletes who wish to be considered for selection in the Indian athletics team. Furthermore, only one athlete will be selected for every event. Should there be no athlete who can match the cut-off mark, the federation will decide to send the athlete they deem the best.
Athletes who are not a part of the National Coaching Camps can participate in a confirmatory trial, which will be held on the 15th of August, to stake their claim for a spot on the athletics team.
Initially, the competition was scheduled for July 15-18 in Kolkata. However, it has been pushed ahead, keeping in mind the June 30 deadline of naming athletics squad for Asian Games.
What's next?
The athletes who will clear the qualification mark will participate in the 2018 Asian Games, which will take place in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia starting from 18th of August. The games will go on for fifteen days, eventually finishing on September 2nd.
Author's take
After the CWG debacle, the AFI needs to ensure that all athletes who breach the qualification mark are able to take part in the Asian Games. Hence, this is a good move on the part of the federation.
