Kripashankar lalmani

National Junior U20 Federation Athletics: The opening day of the three-day 22nd National Junior U20 Federation Athletics Championships witnessed several exciting yet close contests as the event got underway at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) Centre here on Friday. Several athletes caught the eye of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) selection panel as they achieved the Asian U20 qualification criteria set by the AFI on Day One.

The men’s 3,000m saw as many as the top eight finishers dip below the Asian U20 qualifying mark, while four runners, including three medallists, breached the Asian U20 qualification time in the women’s 3000m event. The men’s 400m semifinals were also exciting with three competitors crossing the finish line below the qualification standards to stay in the race for national team berth. The Asian qualification time in men’s 400m is 48.10 seconds.

Nikhil Suhas Dhake of Maharashtra clocked 47.95 seconds in semis, while Bapi Hansda of Odisha (47.51 secs) and Delhi's Aman Chaudhary (47.86 secs) were the other two runners who were successful in achieving their goals on Day One.