GK Vijayakumari
With 47 athletes in its roster, Karnataka has sent the fourth-largest squad to the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships beginning in Chennai on Wednesday. They are behind the hosts Tamil Nadu (79), defending champions Haryana (65), and Uttar Pradesh (64).
However, more than the state honour, the five-day event also presents the last chance to qualify for the World Athletics Championships, whose cut-off date is set at August 24 (except for the 10,000m, 35km race walk, 20km race walk, combined events, and relays).
It’s important to note that an alternate route to qualification for the event, which is taking place in Tokyo next month, is through the world rankings when all the allotted berths are not filled.