Homecoming of Neeraj Chopra and Other Storylines: Federation Cup Preview

The season-opening tournament of Indian Athletics, the National Federation Cup will start on Sunday at the Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar with the homecoming of Olympic Champion Neeraj Chopra turning it into the talk of the town.

The 26-year-old Chopra will be competing in a domestic event for the first time in three years, after featuring in the 2021 edition of the same event.

It will also be the first time that Chopra will compete in India after winning a historic gold in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Chopra last took part in a domestic competition at the same Federation Cup in March 2021, when he won a gold with a throw of 87.80m.

Since then, he has mostly been training and competing abroad, accumulating silverware and titles.

Apart from Neeraj, Asian Games silver medalist Kishore Kumar Jena will also feature in the Javelin throw making it the event to watch out for.

Other top athletes, including the likes of shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor, would also be looking to either breach the Paris Olympics qualifying mark or gain valuable ranking points.

Men's 400m will attract the crowd as top Indian quarter milers have entered the fray. The event will feature Amoj Jacob, Muhammed Ajmal, and Rajesh Ramesh, who were part of the Indian 4x400m squad that qualified for the Paris Olympics during the World Relays in the Bahamas.

In women's long jump, Nayana James and Shaili Singh will continue their new-found rivalry with both jumpers winning once in the 2024 season. Nayana won at Open Jumps in March while Shaili came first at the recently concluded Indian Grand Prix 1.

Jeswin Aldrin will be the favourite to win the men's long jump in the absence of injured Murali Sreeshankar but his main target will be the Paris Olympics qualification.

The quarter-mile race will see M R Poovamma, Jyothika Sri Dandi, Subha Venkatesan, and Vithya Ramraj -- members of India's 4x400m relay squad that booked a Paris Games berth taking part.

Hima Das, who returned to action at the Indian Grand Prix 1 last month after getting clearance for whereabouts failure, is not taking part in the event. She pulled out midway in the 200m race at that event in Bengaluru.

Athletes who skipped the Federation Cup

Asian Games medallists Avinash Sable (men's 3000m steeplechase), Jyothi Yarraji (women's 100m hurdles), Parul Chaudhary (women's 3000m steeplechase), Annu Rani (women's javelin throw) and Harmilan Bains (women's 800m and 1500m) are among top athletes who are skipping the event as they are training abroad.

Also missing from the list are national record holder 100m sprinter Manikanta Hoblidhar and Amlan Borgohain (200m) as they are training and competing abroad.

Schedule of Federation Cup Athletics

12th May 2024: Morning Session (05:45 AM - 08:10 AM IST), Evening Session (05:30 PM - 08:40 PM IST)

13th May 2024: Morning Session (06:15 AM- 07:45 AM IST), Evening Session (05:40 PM- 08:55 PM IST)

14th May 2024: Morning Session (06:20 AM- 08:30 AM IST), Evening Session (05:40 PM- 08:45 PM IST)

15th May 2024: Morning Session (06:00 AM- 07:20 AM IST), Evening Session (05:30 PM- 08:35 PM IST)

Check the full schedule HERE

Federation Cup Athletics: Where to Watch, Live Streaming

The tournament will be streamed live on the YouTube channel of the Athletics Federation of India.