Selection Trials Of Odisha Athletes For National Junior Athletics Championship From Saturday

Bhubaneswar: The Sports and Youth Services department and Odisha Athletics Association will jointly conduct selection trials of athletes from Saturday for Odisha contingent to participate in the National Junior Athletics Championship to be held at Guwahati in Assam from February 6 to 10.

Total 239 athletes including 127 boys and 111 girls from 31 units including RSP and KIIT University in the age group of U-14, U-16, U-18 and U-20 will compete in track and field, jump and throw events during the trials, according to a release.

This year, new events of ball throw for U-14 boys and girls, 80 mts hurdle and 300 mts run for U-16  boys and girls have been included in the national championship. The two-day trials will be conducted with strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols.

Some of the promising track and field athletes from Odisha including three from the Reliance Foundation Odisha Athletics High Performance Centre (HPC) and six from the Monitoring Cohort (MC) of the high performance centre will be competing at the state trials.

The selection committee members constituted by the Odisha Athletics Association and headed by Ashok Kumar Sahu, Joint Secretary, OAA and Chairman, selection committee will be present during the trials.

Speaking on the selection trials, Minister for Sports and Youth Services Tusharkanti Behera said, “COVID-19 pandemic has unprecedented impact on sports stalling events and training activities for a significant period. This is the first large gathering of athletics after the pandemic and we are confident it will benefit them. Over the last few years our representation at different national games has increased, so also the performance of our athletes particularly in track and field and jump and throw events.”

Honorary Secretary of Odisha Athletics Association Ashirbad Behera said, “It’s a great opportunity for our future champions to compete at the world-class Kalinga Stadium and showcase their talent. I am thankful to the Sports & Youth Services Department, Odisha for extending all types of support for the event.”