KOCHI: The likes of Hima Das and Dutee Chand will face off in the 100m run while Jinson Johnson will be marking a return to the track after close to two years as the 25th National Federation Cup senior athletics championship is set to get underway in Calicut from Saturday.
Meanwhile, a mouthwatering showdown is expected in the men's long jump with national record holder Murali Sreeshankar set to be tested by Jeswin Aldrin who was one of the showstoppers at the Indian Grand Prix-1 as he had produced a jump of 8.20m in the event at Thiruvananthapuram.
The duo will face some stiff competition from Muhammed Anees Yahiya who has also managed to cross the eight-metre barrier this season at the Indian Open Jumps competition where Anees and Sreeshankar had gone toe-to-toe.
The long jump event is expected to be one of the fiercely fought affairs at the meet with three jumpers looking in excellent form.
"I think it is always good motivation when there is someone to push you. And I feel both Jeswin and Anees have done well coming into the competition. It will be exciting to compete against them and I'm sure all of us will push each other to do better," said Sreeshankar.
The 22-year-old had produced a jump of 7.92m recently at the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Belgrade and finished seventh overall in the event. And the youngster is full of confidence going into the Federation Cup.
"I feel I could have done better at the Indoor Athletics Championship but to finish seventh there has given me good confidence. I look forward to doing well over here," added Sreeshankar.
Meanwhile, Jinson Johnson will be seen in the 1500m run and there will be a lot of focus on how the veteran athlete fares after returning from what has been a long injury lay-off.
The 31-year-old was undergoing rehabilitation in Ooty and had been under the radar as he tries to get back to form ahead of the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou where he'll look to defend his 1500m title.
While Jinson is marking a long-awaited return, quarter-miler Muhammed Anas continues to be an absentee as he will not feature in the Federation Cup. The 27-year-old is believed to be nursing an injury and while Anas will not be seen in action, the likes of Amoj Jacob, Noah Nirmal Tom and Arokia Rajiv will be among the main faces in the 400m run.
As for Priya Mohan who has been one of the standout performers in the 400m run event in recent domestic competitions, the 19-year-old will be participating only in the 200m run where she will be going up against Hima Das. It also remains to be seen if BP Manu can recreate the form he showed at IGP-1 in the javelin event where he had won gold with an impressive throw of 82.46m. The competition will be held at the CH Muhammad Koya Stadium in Calicut from April 2 to 6.