The second leg of Indian Grand Prix Series 2019 will be held at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi on Wednesday.
For the athletes, the eventual goal is to match the qualifying standards for the 23rd Asian Athletics Championships to be held in Doha. While the IGP will likely serve as a warm up-event ahead of the Federation Cup to be held in March, the high quality of the field could well spring up a few surprises.
Sprinter Dutee Chand who holds the women’s 100 m national record will participate in the women’s 200 m event which also comprise upcoming 400 m runner Anjali Devi of Haryana.
The most exciting contest is expected in the women’s 400 metres event where a strong field of competitors include Vismaya VK, who ran the anchor leg of gold medal winning 4x400 m relay team at the 2018 Asian Games. The Kerala-based athlete also won the first leg of the IGP in Patiala on Saturday with the timing of 53.60 seconds.
National campers MR Poovamma, Sarita Gayakwad, Anu Raghvan and Aishwarya Mishra along with Jisna Mathew are the other big names in the race.
In the men’s 400 m, Rajiv Arokia, who tested his speed by participating in the 100 m sprint in Patiala, will make a comeback to his favourite one-lap race. The other strong athletes in the 400 m men’s event include Kunhu Mohammed, Jeevan KS and Jithu Baby.
In the men’s Javelin Throw, Vipin Kasana who won the gold medal in IGP-1 with a throw of 77.87 m will be in action once again while national record holder Dharun Ayyasamy will look to improve his timing in the men’s 400 m hurdles.