Special Correspondent
PATIALA: The inaugural Open Throws competition, initiated by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) to provide an additional preparatory event for Indian athletes in a packed international year, will not only be the season opener but also hopefully see new faces coming to the fore with improved performances.
With the likes of Neeraj Chopra, Annu Rani, Kamalpreet Kaur and Shivpal Singh absent from action, the only two big names in the fray shot-putter -- Tajinderpal Singh Toor among men and discus thrower Seema Antil among women –- are both returning from a break and injuries and will be looking to re-establish their eminence against a largely young competition with more than 41% of the 67 participants across events being between 18-20 years.
While Toor has been training at the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports here, Seema has been training in Russia before coming to Delhi. The two will be keen to get back to winning ways after a disappointing Tokyo outing last year.
Besides, 19 teenagers will be hoping to qualify for the World Athletics Under-20 Championships in August.
Among the more exciting talents will be 22-year-old Sahil Silwal, the only participant with a personal best of over 80m last year in javelin but he is expected to be pushed hard by the likes of Rohit Yadav (the other 80m club member), Abhishek Singh, Abhishek Drall and Arshdeep Singh, all on the cusp of breaking into the 80m club and all keen to make their mark away from Neeraj’s shadow.
Toor, meanwhile will see competition from Karanveer Singh, the only other shot-putter to touch the 20m mark last year, and the experienced duo of Om Prakash Singh Karhana and Saurabj Vij. Indian athletes have the Commonwealth Games, the World Championships and the Asian Games to look forward to in 2022.
Among the women, javelin throw will see rising stars Sharmila Kumari and Sanjana Choudhary trying to improve their performances in the absence of Annu.
