CHENNAI: A few Tamil Nadu athletes are set to miss out on the 60th National Inter-State Athletics Championships in Patiala from June 25-29 due to their inability to train over the past two months. The event serves as the final qualification opportunity for the Tokyo Olympics. Due to the lockdown, athletes have been confined to their homes and not been able to prepare.
The Tamil Nadu Athletics Association (TNAA) has put the names of 45 athletes in the selection list, but around ten athletes haven’t given their confirmation as yet. The association had written to the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) requesting access to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium for training, but they are yet to get a reply.
“Quite a few athletes are not wanting to go since they have had no practice for the last two months. The Nehru Stadium is not permitting athletes to train. We have made a personal request to SDAT and sent a letter too. We had told them to give permission for 10 days to at least 12 athletes, who are going for Olympic selection. But they still haven’t given permission. Since it is a major meet, athletes are not ready to go when they have not had any practice,” TNAA secretary C Latha told this daily on Tuesday.
While around 13-14 TN athletes are part of the national camp in Patiala, the prevailing situation means that only 15-20 athletes are expected to travel from TN to Patiala. The athletes already in Patiala include S Dhanalakshmi (100m, 200m), A Chandralekha (100m, 200m) and S Arokia Rajiv (400m). Longjumper R Swaminathan and pole-vaulter Baranika are among those travelling.
“Out of 45 names, I would say there are chances of around 30-35 athletes participating at the inter-state meet. The chances of qualify for Olympics are not high but because of that, we should not deny them opportunity to participate,” Latha informed. The athletes are expected to reach Patiala on June 24. As per Covid protocols, they will have to carry a negative RT-PCR test report for the event.