New Delhi: National Senior Athletics Federation Competition, scheduled to be held between May 22 and 25 in Ranchi, Jharkhand, will act as final selection trials for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games starting July 23 in Scotland.
While announcing the 2026 Commonwealth Games qualification standards for track and field on Monday, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) said a limited number of athletes will compete in Glasgow.
“As per the protocol of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, the number of athletics team can’t exceed 32, including 16 female athletes,” AFI senior vice-president Anju Bobby George said.
“Since limited number of track and field events will feature at the Glasgow edition of the Commonwealth Games, accordingly AFI will select the team from amongst those who achieve the qualification mark in their respective events in May.”
At the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games Indian team won eight medals, including gold in men’s triple jump through Eldhose Paul. India’s star steeplechase runner Avinash Sable clinched silver.
The qualifying standard for the men’s 110m hurdles has been set at 13.39 seconds, while it is 12.67 seconds for the women’s 100m hurdles. The men’s and women’s 100m qualifying time has been set at 10.16 seconds and 11.17 seconds, respectively. The 4x400m mixed relay qualifying standard is 3:16.00 seconds.
The National Senior Athletics Federation Competition in Ranchi will also act as a qualification window for the 2026 Asian U23 Athletics Championships.
The Asian Games in September is the major competition of the packed 2026 calendar.
The AFI will also send the national team to World Relays in May in Botswana, Anju said. “The selection trials for the World Relays will be held during the third National Open Relay Competition on March 28 in Chandigarh. Foreign teams are also expected to compete in Chandigarh,” she added.
According to the AFI senior vice-president, the 65th National Inter State Senior Athletics Championships, scheduled to be held from June 24 to 28 in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, will be the final selection trials for Asian Games in September. “The main focus of this year will be the Asian Games in Japan.”
The Indian team won 29 medals, including six gold in track and field events at the 2022 edition of the continental games held in China.
The AFI has already announced guidelines to compete at the 29th National Senior Athletics Federation Competition and the 65th National Inter State Senior Athletics Championships.
During the AFI meeting in Trivandrum, the 2026 domestic calendar was also revised.
(IANS)
