The National Open 400m championships will begin at the LNCPE in Karyavattom, Kerala, on March 5, 2023 on Sunday.
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The National Open 400m championships will begin at the LNCPE in Karyavattom, Kerala, on March 5, 2023 on Sunday. This will be the fourth edition of the championships. However, the absence of several top quarter milers has diminished the excitement surrounding the event. Among the elite Indian athletes who have decided to skip the competition are national campers Muhammed Anas Yahiya, Noah Nirmal Tom, Amoj Jacob, Hima Das, V.K. Vismaya, Archana Suseendran, K. Summy, and P.D. Anjali. These athletes have only recently started training after the off-season. As a result, they are aiming the first leg of the Indian Grand Prix as their first competitive event of the season, rather than this meet.
Despite the absence of these big names, the men’s 400m event has garnered a large number of entries, with Kerala’s V. Muhammed Ajmal, the Federation Cup and National Games winner, seen as the favorite. Rajesh Ramesh from Tamil Nadu, who won the silver medal in the National Games, Nihal Joel and Rahul Baby, are anticipated to provide tough competition to Ajmal. Meanwhile, the women’s event has only 10 participants, with Maharashtra’s Aiswarya Mishra, the national games gold medalist, heavily favored to win. Her main rivals are Dandhi Jyothika Sri from Andhra Pradesh and Subha Venkatesh from Tamil Nadu. Talented junior Rupal Chaudhary, a two-time U20 World Championships medalist in 2022, will not be competing in the under-20 category.
In addition to the men’s and women’s events, the competition will also include under-20, under-18, and under-16 categories. Although the absence of several big names has certainly taken some of the enthusiasm, there is still expected to be plenty of fierce competition among the athletes who will be marking their presence. With the first leg of the Indian Grand Prix just around the corner, many of these athletes will be looking to use this meet as a way to fine-tune their skills and gain some valuable experience before the larger, more high-profile events of the season.
The first four legs of the Indian Athletics Grand Prix 2023 are scheduled to take place between March and April in 2023. While the first two will be organized in Thiruvananthapuram on March 20 and March 27. Bengaluru host the third and fourth leg on April 2 and April 10, 2023. While the fifth and final leg will be held in September after the World Athletics Championships 2023 in Budapest in NIS Patiala, Punjab on September 10, 2023.
Read more: Indian Sports Calendar 2023: Know All the Important Events featuring Indian Athletes
March 5, 2023
Heats for all the events, including senior, U-20, U-18, and U-16 categories.
March 6, 2023
4:30 pm – Girls’ Under 16 Final
4:40 pm – Boys’ Under 16 Final
4:55 pm – Youth Women Under 18 Final
5:10 pm – Youth Men Under 18 Final
5:25 pm – Women Under 20 Final
5:40 pm – Men Under 20 Final
5:55 pm – Women’s Final
8:10 pm – Men’s Final
Read more: Athletics: Indian Track & Field Athletes who excelled in the year 2022
