South Asian Junior Athletics Championships: Indian Team Ready To Cash On Home Advantage

Khan is among the 62-strong Indian team selected by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) for the regional competition at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

Khan, who hails from Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, holds the national U20 record in the 3,000m steeplechase (8:42.06). He plans to further improve his performance in Chennai.

“I’m healthy. I should be able to do my best,” he said on the eve of the three-day meet.

The focus will also be on Pooja, the national U20 record holder in the women’s high jump. Her season and personal best of 1.83m was recorded at the just concluded World Athletics U20 Championships held in Lima, Peru.

Anurag Singh Kaler, Siddharth Choudhary (shot put) and Ritik (discus throw), medal winners at the 2024 Asian U20 Championships held earlier this year in Dubai, are looking ahead to making a good impression in the South Asian Championships.

N Ramesh, chief junior national athletics coach, is also expecting sprinters to dominate relay events.

“Indian 4x100m women’s team had set a national U20 record (45.31 seconds) at the World U20. They should be able to continue their good work here in Chennai,” he said.

The majority of the members of the Indian team had competed in the World Athletics U20 Championships.

“The competition in Chennai will be good exposure for the promising athletes on the home ground,” Ramesh said.

Sri Lanka is also fielding a strong 54-member team. Pakistan (12), Bhutan (5), Nepal (9), Bangladesh (16) and Maldives (15) are the other participating teams. All the teams have arrived in Chennai.