"Reliance Foundation athletes look to gear up for Asian Games at Silver Level meeting in Bhubaneswar"
As the Asian Games draw nearer, over 20 athletes supported by the Reliance Foundation will be in action at the Continental Tour Silver Level meeting in Bhubaneswar on Saturday, 22nd August.
The tournament will be the first time ever that India will host a silver level meet and will feature some top overseas athletes too from Asia, South America and Africa.
Leading the charge for Reliance Foundation will be the likes of Jyothi Yarraji (women’s 100m hurdles), Sreeshankar Murali (men’s long jump), Ancy Sojan (women’s long jump) Animesh Kujur and Gurindervir Singh (men’s 100m).
Apart from Animesh, the other Odisha athletes in action include Kishore Kumar Jena (men’s javelin throw), Swadhin Kumar Majhi (men’s high jump) and Pragyan Parasanti Sahu (women’s 100m hurdles).
Calling the event ‘really prestigious’, James Hillier, Athletics Director at Reliance Foundation, said, “Bhubaneswar is the home of Indian athletics and I’m sure it will be a fantastic event. The foreign athletes I have met this week are very excited to be competing here in India. A lot of our athletes who will be going to the Asian Games next month will be competing here and this will be ideal preparation for them.
“Harita Bhadra, who’s ranked 4th in Asia at the moment, will be running the women’s 100m event and won the Inter State Championships a few months back at the same venue. She’ll be stepping down from her favoured 200m event and this will be a good test for her as she prepares for the Asian Games. In the men’s 400m, we have young Mohammed Ashfaq, who made the final of the same event at the junior World Championships and set two personal bests at that competition. Mohammed Afsal P, silver medalist in the last Asian Games, will take part in the men’s 800m event. Aadarsh Ram will also look to build on his Commonwealth Games display in the high jump and Swadhin will be excited to perform in front of his home crowd.
“Sreeshankar will also return to his happy hunting ground, where he jumped his season best of 8.38m at the Inter State in a phenomenal display. He is in fantastic shape and raring to go. There’ll be very happy memories for Ancy too, who will return to Bhubaneswar after breaking the 22-year old national record the last time she was there. She is in prime form and very excited to compete again and show her wares. Jyothi will be competing in her 3rd competition since making an inspiring comeback and it will be interesting to see how she goes. Anand Singh will be one to watch out for in the javelin throw after winning a medal at the Asian U23 Championships with a 80m+ throw. It is a great chance to showcase Indian athletics to the world again.”
Reliance Foundation has a long-standing partnership with the Odisha government that has seen Odisha became a major force in the sport of athletics as well as the premier sporting facility in Indian athletics, regularly hosting national and international events.
The one day meet will feature a quality field that will give the athletes another opportunity to go up against top international athletes.
Leading the charge for Reliance Foundation will be the likes of Jyothi Yarraji (women’s 100m hurdles), Sreeshankar Murali (men’s long jump), Ancy Sojan (women’s long jump) Animesh Kujur and Gurindervir Singh (men’s 100m).
Apart from Animesh, the other Odisha athletes in action include Kishore Kumar Jena (men’s javelin throw), Swadhin Kumar Majhi (men’s high jump) and Pragyan Parasanti Sahu (women’s 100m hurdles).
Calling the event ‘really prestigious’, James Hillier, Athletics Director at Reliance Foundation, said, “Bhubaneswar is the home of Indian athletics and I’m sure it will be a fantastic event. The foreign athletes I have met this week are very excited to be competing here in India. A lot of our athletes who will be going to the Asian Games next month will be competing here and this will be ideal preparation for them.
“Harita Bhadra, who’s ranked 4th in Asia at the moment, will be running the women’s 100m event and won the Inter State Championships a few months back at the same venue. She’ll be stepping down from her favoured 200m event and this will be a good test for her as she prepares for the Asian Games. In the men’s 400m, we have young Mohammed Ashfaq, who made the final of the same event at the junior World Championships and set two personal bests at that competition. Mohammed Afsal P, silver medalist in the last Asian Games, will take part in the men’s 800m event. Aadarsh Ram will also look to build on his Commonwealth Games display in the high jump and Swadhin will be excited to perform in front of his home crowd.
“Sreeshankar will also return to his happy hunting ground, where he jumped his season best of 8.38m at the Inter State in a phenomenal display. He is in fantastic shape and raring to go. There’ll be very happy memories for Ancy too, who will return to Bhubaneswar after breaking the 22-year old national record the last time she was there. She is in prime form and very excited to compete again and show her wares. Jyothi will be competing in her 3rd competition since making an inspiring comeback and it will be interesting to see how she goes. Anand Singh will be one to watch out for in the javelin throw after winning a medal at the Asian U23 Championships with a 80m+ throw. It is a great chance to showcase Indian athletics to the world again.”
Reliance Foundation has a long-standing partnership with the Odisha government that has seen Odisha became a major force in the sport of athletics as well as the premier sporting facility in Indian athletics, regularly hosting national and international events.
The one day meet will feature a quality field that will give the athletes another opportunity to go up against top international athletes.
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