Sable, Kujur, Jyothi in action at Indian Athletics Series finale ahead of Asian Games

New Delhi: Almost all the Asian Games-bound track and field athletes, including fit-again star steeplechaser Avinash Sable, will be in action in the Indian Athletics Series Final here on Thursday as part of their tune-up to the mega event in Japan later this month.

The invitational one-day event at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium is the culmination of the 15-leg Indian Athletics Series, which was introduced by Athletics Federation of India (AFI) this April.

The national federation has made the finale lucrative by introducing a total prize fund of Rs 65 lakh. The winner in each of the 30 events will pocket Rs one lakh.


The second place finishers will receive Rs 50,000 each while the athletes who ended at third, fourth, fifth and sixth will get Rs 25,000, Rs 20,000, Rs 15,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively.

Except for a few athletes such as long jumper Murali Sreeshankar, high jumper Sarvesh Kushare and triple jumper Praveen Chithravel, all the athletes from the 77-member Indian team for the Asian Games in Japan beginning September 19 will be competing on Thursday.

Sreeshankar, who won a silver in the recent Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and has also crossed the 8m mark in every competition he took part this season, is already in Japan, training at the University of Tsukuba near Tokyo ahead of the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya.

The remaining athletes will leave for Japan on Saturday and reach the University of Tsukuba the next day for a short acclimatisation camp. They will reach Aichi-Nagoya on September 21, two days before the start of the athletics events at the Asian Games.

This is not the first time that the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) is giving prize money to the winners.

During the 2009 season, the AFI had given out prize money to the top-three finishers in the three Indian Grand Prix series, with the winners handed Rs 15,000 each, amounting to an aggregate of Rs 15 lakh prize purse.

Sable, Yashvir among top draws

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Commonwealth Games bronze-medallist javelin thrower Yashvir Singh, who has replaced an injured Neeraj Chopra in the Asian Games team, will be among the top draws alongside Sable, shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor, 100m hurdler Jyothi Yarraji, and long jumper Ancy Sojan to name a few.

Thursday's event is important for Sable as the AFI has made a request to the Asian Games organisers to allow his entry in the 5000m race as well.

But he will have to first breach the qualifying standard (13 minute and 39.18 seconds) set by the AFI at the race on Thursday. His participation in the Asian Games in his pet 30000m steeplechase event, though, is confirmed.

Sable has run just one race this season after undergoing an ACL surgery last year. He won a gold in 3000m steeplechase and a silver in 5000m in the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023.

India's fastest male sprinter and 100m national record holder Gurindervir Singh, 200m national record holder Animesh Kujur and 400m national record holder Vishal TK are also in fray.

CWG medallist Gulveer Singh is not competing as long distance events are not included in the meet.

Marathon, race walk, heptathlon, decathlon, men's discus and women's 200m race have also been excluded.

List of events:

Men: 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 3000m steeplechase, 110m hurdles, 400m hurdles, high jump, long jump, triple jump, pole vault, shot put, hammer throw, javelin throw.

Women: 100m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 3000m steeplechase, 100m hurdles, 400m hurdles, high jump, long jump, triple jump, pole vault, shot put, hammer throw, discus throw, javelin throw.