National race walking competition in Chandigarh to be held on Saturday

Chandigarh, April 18 (IANS) Two-time Olympian and national record holder Priyanka Goswami will look ahead to dominating the women’s 20km event at the 12th edition of the Indian Open Race Walking competition at the picturesque Sukhna Lake here on Saturday.

Priyanka’s main focus on Saturday will be to achieve the qualification time of 1:32:00 for the women's 20km event set by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) for the Asian Athletics Championships to be held May 27 to 31. “I’m fit and should be able to clock a good time tomorrow,” the 29-year-old national record holder said.

Priyanka’s personal best and national record in women’s 20km is 1:28:45, recorded in 2021 in Ranchi, Jharkhand. Earlier this year, in March, she also improved the national women’s 35km race walk record to 2:56.34 in Slovakia.

The women’s 20km event has attracted 20 athletes. While the men’s 20 km race walk will witness 46 elite runners, the majority of them from the Indian Army battle it out for a podium finish. The qualification time for the Asian meet in the men’s 20km event is 1:24:00.

Paris Olympian Akshdeep Singh and Paramjeet Singh Bisht are considered the main contenders for the podium finish in the men’s 20km race walk.

Akshdeep holds the men’s 20km national record of 1:19:55, which he clocked in 2023 in Ranchi. The Punjab racewalker exuded confidence to stay ahead of his rivals and book a berth for the upcoming Asian Championships.

“The route is good and I’m expecting a good time on Saturday,” the Punjab racewalker said.

The men’s 35km event has attracted a big group of 14 athletes from the Indian army. Army’s international race walker Ram Baboo will spearhead the challenge. The gruelling 35km race walk in the women’s group has attracted 11 athletes. The main contenders will be Manju Rani, Ramandeep Kaur, and Payal.

The World Athletics Championships qualification time in men’s 20km race walk is 1:19:20. The automatic qualification time in women’s 20km race walk is 1:29:00. The automatic qualification time in men’s 35km is 2:28:00. The qualification time in women’s 35km is 2:48:00.

The competition will also be conducted in the U20 boys and girls groups on Saturday. The boys' section has attracted as many as 48 athletes.

--IANS

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