Inter-State Athletics meet begins on Wednesday

Chennai: Non disclosure of qualifying marks for next month`s Asian Championships in Guangzhou, China, by Athletics Federation of India is unlikely to hamper the performance of top athletes in the 49th National Inter-State meet starting here tomorrow. About 1,200 men and women athletes from 27 states will vie for honours in the four-day event, concluding on October 24. 120 athletes, who are in the elite list for the preparation of 2010 Commonwealth Games and camping at NIS Patiala and Bangalore, have confirmed participation for the meet. They have returned from the training tour of England. AFI senior vice-president W I Davaram told a press conference here that athletes would hit peak form here and one could expect a number of records set at the meet. "There is no dearth of participation. We do not know the qualifying mark set by the Federation for the ensuing Asian Championship in China (Nov 10-14)," he said. "But the best athletes will be sent to China. The earlier best performances of athletes will be considered for selection," Davaram said. Dawaram said the AFI has been very particular about conducting dope tests. "We do not want another weightlifting fiasco here. We only know a team of WADA officials are here. It will be an independent operation. All the medallists will be subject to dope tests. Besides, WADA will also do random tests." Only one national mark was set in last year`s inter-state meet at Madurai -- Krishna Mohan (AP) winning 110m hurdles in 14 secs. Tintu Luka, a ward of the legendary P T Usha, had won gold in 800m in the Bhopal National Open Athletics meet early this month and she seems to be in good nick to win back to back titles here and also earn the ticket to China. Tamil Nadu`s Gayathri, a double silver medallist in the Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune, is all set to dominate the event. Bureau Report