Athletics season to begin with Indian Open Throws event in Delhi on Feb 26

Neeraj Chopra's Olympic gold medal-winning feat. Star javelin thrower Chopra had clinched the country's first Olympic gold in athletics in Tokyo Games on August 7 last year and the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) had earlier said that national javelin day will be observed to mark the feat. The Federation Cup Senior National Athletics Championships will be held in Kozhikode from April 2-6, while the Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships and National Open Athletics Championships will be staged in Chennai (June 10-14) and Jamshedpur (October 15-19), respectively.

The 25-meet annual competition calendar was announced by AFI on Saturday. “We are keen to build on the attention that Neeraj Chopra's gold medal in the Olympic Games has got for athletics in India,” AFI President Adille Sumariwalla said in a release. “The annual calendar has been designed to give our athletes every chance to qualify and prepare for international events like the World Championships, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.” Sumariwalla said that the federation has decided to add a National Open Throws Competition in Delhi on February 26 and a National Open Jumps Competition in Thiruvananthapuram on March 1. “We will continue to organise the National Javelin Throw Competition and look forward to marking Neeraj's Olympic gold with the National Javelin Day events in all States and Union Territories on August 7,” he said. The AFI President said that slots had been earmarked for district meets (March 1 to 31), state meets (April 1 to May 25) and sports board meets (August 1 to 30). The domestic athletics season was to start with the National Cross Country Championships on January 15 in Kohima and Indian Open Race Walking Championships in Ranchi on