744 athletes to take part in National Inter-State Sr Athletics

As many as 744 athletes, including 264 women from 26 states will take part in the five-day 56th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships, a qualifying event for the Rio Olympics, beginning here tomorrow.

As of date 21 athletes have qualified for the Rio Olympic Games besides the women's 4x400m relay squad.

Some top athletes who would be participating in the event are sprinter Amiya Kumar Mallick (Odisha), distance runners G Lakshmanan and L Suriya (both from Tamil Nadu), middle distance runner O P Jaisha (Punjab), ace quarter-milers Arokia Rajiv (Tamil Nadu) and M R Poovamma (Karnataka).

It is the fourth time that senior Nationals have returned to Hyderabad.
 

Besides, a Sri Lankan relay team will also take part in the event in its bid to attain the Rio qualification standard.