Among the athletes in action will be national record holders Tejas Shirse and Amlan Borgohain
The 63rd National Open Athletics Championships, scheduled to be held in Bengaluru from 30th August to 2nd September, will see participation from 39 Reliance Foundation athletes including national record holders Tejas Shirse (men’s 110m hurdles) and Amlan Borgohain.
The other Reliance Foundation athletes in action include Moumita Mondal (heptathlon), Manikanta Hoblidhar and Gurindervir Singh (100m), Yamandeep Sharma (Decathlon), Sahil Silwal and Vikrant Malik (javelin throw), Asian Games silver medalist Mohammed Afsal (800m) and national record holder Rosy Meena Paulraj (pole vault).
Speaking about the preparations and the competition, James Hillier, Director of Athletics, Reliance Foundation, said, “It will be the final competition of this year for some of our senior athletes, so they will be looking to end the season on a high and get some confidence ahead of a big year next year that has the Asian Championships, World University Games and the World Championships too. For the U-23 athletes, this tournament will be ideal preparation for the U-23 nationals, which will take place next month. The junior nationals are also coming up in November, so this will be a good opportunity for our young athletes too to get quality competition time. Bengaluru is a very good venue with a fast track and good facilities for throwing too.”
Hillier picked out Silwal, Malik, Amlan, Manikanta and Gurindervir as the athletes to look out for, saying, “Sahil and Vikrant finished first and second in the Inter-State and have been training really well since then. Amlan, who is the national record holder in the 200m and a former national record holder in the 100m, will be competing in the 100m against his training partner Manikanta Hoblidhar, who is the national record holder in the 100m.
Manikanta has been training with us for a year now and is in very good shape. Gurindervir, a fine talent from Punjab, will also be taking part in his first competition after becoming a part of Reliance Foundation’s athletics program.”
The Odisha 4x100m relay team which trains at the Odisha Reliance Foundation High Performance Centre will be looking for more glory after their impressive display at the Inter-State Championships where they won a historic Gold. Animesh Kujur, who was one of the brightest stars of the Inter-State, will be participating in the relay events for Odisha in the 4x100m and 4x400m events.
Moumita Mondal will be making her debut in the heptathlon after finding success in the hurdles and long jump events at the national level. Reliance Foundation athletes had put in a sparkling display at the Inter-State Championships winning a total of 22 medals earlier this year.