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After almost a year-long absence, athletics events returned to the Indian domestic circuit last month and the 24th Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships is already underway in Patiala to showcase the ability of our athletes.
The Indian Grand Prix, organized towards the end of last month, was seen as a low-key tournament as many top athletes stayed away from the event.
However, the 24th Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships has attracted most of the heavyweights of the Indian domestic circuit, with star attractions like Hima Das, Dutee Chand and Neeraj Chopra among others.
The event also provides a window to the athletes who are gearing up for the Tokyo Olympics but haven't been able to qualify yet.
Tamil Nadu's dominance in athletics continues
Tamil Nadu has long been a powerhouse on India's domestic athletics circuit and its dominance in this year's Federation Cup has been telling. Tamil Nadu's Dhanalakshmi created waves on the athletics circuit by defeating reigning Indian 100m record holder Dutee Chand.
Among the men, Elakkiyadasan Kannada of Tamil Nadu clinched silver with a timing of 10.42s behind Gurindervir Singh of Punjab.
The track event dominance of Tamil Nadu athletes continued with a double in the 100m hurdles at the 24th Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships. T. Veeramani was the winner in the men's 110m hurdles with a timing of 14.57s, while Tamil Nadu's C. Kanimozhi won the 100m hurdles gold medal.
Tamil Nadu athletes have also maintained their dominance in the field events as the gold medal of the women's pole vault event went to Rosy Paulraj, while the silver was won by Pavithra Venkatesh who also belongs to Tamil Nadu.
Glimpses of Olympic preparations at the Federation Cup
With the presence of some of the biggest stars of the Indian circuit, the 24th Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships is giving us major glimpses into the preparations of some of our biggest hopes for a medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
The breaking of the Indian national record in the long jump event by Murali Sreeshankar was a major highlight of the event, who also achieved the Olympic qualification mark in the process. Bhavani Devi has created history in becoming the first Indian woman to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in fencing.
The tournament could still spring plenty of surprises before its conclusion.
