Depleted field for Indian Grand Prix – 2

Animesh Kujur starts as the overwhelming favourite to win a sprint double. 
| Photo Credit: R. K. Nithin

Thiruvananthapuram: The absence of several prominent stars and a lacklustre field in many events have diminished the excitement surrounding the Indian Grand Prix – 2 which will get under way at the LNCPE Athletics Stadium here on Saturday.

Only a handful of internationals have chosen to test the waters in the summer heat and focus will be on national campers attached to the National Centres of Excellence.

In the men’s section, among the country’s leading sprinters only National record holder Animesh Kujur has chosen to compete here and he starts as the overwhelming favourite to win a sprint double.

Delhi’s Jayakumar, Kapil and Rince Joseph will be the prominent runners in the men’s 400m event. Mohammed Afsal will be the man to beat in the depleted 800m event. In the absence of leading names in triple jump, the fight for the gold medal will be between Tamil Nadu’s K. Yuvraj and Navy’s Vimal Mukesh.

In the women’s section, Tamil Nadu’s R. Vithya Ramraj is the biggest draw and she will be taking part in 400m hurdles and in 200m. Vithya will be the favourite to win the 400m hurdles but she surprisingly has skipped the 400m and instead will compete in 200m where she has her task cut out.

Subha Venkatesan, Gowri Nandana and Jisna Mathew are familiar faces in the women’s 400m race. The field is too thin in women’s 800m, javelin throw and long jump events with only two competitors taking part in javelin and long jump.