A host of Olympics bound athletes will vie for honours in the two-day National Race Walk Championships beginning here tomorrow as the domestic athletics calendar kick-starts with the event.
Seven Indians who have qualified for race walk event in Rio Games -- Gurmeeth Singh, Sandeep Singh, Manish Singh Rawat, Baljinder Singh and Chandan Singh in men's and Khushbir Kaur and Sapna in women's section -- will take part in the championships, besides other top athletes who are seeking for the Olympics ticket.
While Gurmeeth, Baljinder and Chandan have qualified in 20km race walk, Sandeep and Manish have booked the Rio berth in both 20km and 50m events. Khushbir and Sapna have made the cut for Rio in 20km race walk event.
Forty-six athletes will compete in the men's 20km race walk event while 15 will take in part in women's 20km event, both of which will be held tomorrow. There will be 32 competitors in men's 50km race walk event to be held on Sunday.
Besides being an Olympics qualifying event, the championships will also serve as selection trial for Asian 20km Race Walking Championships to be held in Nomi, Japan next month (March 20).
"We have seven race walkers already qualified for Rio Olympics and all of them are taking part in the two-day championships. We are hoping more athletes can qualify for Olympics from this championships.
Besides that, this championships will serve as the selection event for the Asian 20km Race Walking Championships to be held in Nomi, Japan next month," Athletics Federation of India Secretary C K Valso said at a press conference.
"We are doing very well in race walk and out of the 17 track and field athletes who have qualified for Rio Olympics so far, seven are from race walk. So, race walk is one event which we are giving a lot of focus as we have the potential to do very well in the international stage including the Olympics," he added.
Foreign race walk coach Alexander Artsybashev said that India can expect three race walkers competing in all the three events -- men's 20km and 50km and women's 20km -- in Rio Olympics. A country is allowed to send a maximum of three competitors in each of these three events.
"Two have already qualified for women's 20km and I am
sure a third will qualify in the events in the run-up to Rio Olympics. We have Asian 20km Race Walking Championships, then the IAAF World Race Walking Team Championships (May 7-8) in Italy and IAAF World Challenge (May 18) in Beijing before the Olympic Games," said the Russian coach.
"Among men also, I am sure we will have three Indian participants each in 20km and 50km. So, we will have three each in all the three events. I think it is an achievement as very few countries can have nine athletes taking part in race walk in the Olympics," he added.
National record holder Khushbir said she was raring to go after five months of rest and training.
"I am going to take part in a competition after five months. So, I am raring to go and I feeling at my best condition. I hope I do my best. There are some top competitions coming up before the Olympics. Though Rio Games is the primary target, I also want to do well in the IAAF World Walking Cup," said the 22-year-old Khushbir, who qualified for Rio Olympics in April last year.
Sandeep has qualified for Rio Olympics in both 20km and 50km and he said the coach and federation will decide which event he will take part in as it would be difficult for him to participate in both in Rio.
"Though my main event is 50km, my coach and federation will decide which event I will take part in. But training in both events has given me the advantage. I have the endurance because of the 50km and I am also developing speed because of the 20km training," he added.
Alexander said it would be very difficult for a race walker to compete in both 20km and 50km though in 2000 Sydney Olympics, Robert Korzeniowski of Poland won gold in both events.
National record holder in men's 20km event, K T Irfan is one race walker who is seeking to make the cut for Rio Olympics. He has not taken part in any competition for one and a half years after a right ankle injury during the 2014 Asian Games. He had finished a creditable 10th in the 20km race walk event in 2012 London Olympics.
"I am going to compete for the first time after I got to know of the right ankle injury in the 2014 Asian Games. Now I am completely fit and I want to qualify for the Olympics," he said.
