Race walkers eye Worlds qualifying standards in National Championships

Sandeep Kumar and Priyanka Goswami will be among some of the country's top athletes who will be eyeing World Championships qualification when they take the road at the two-day National Open Race Walking Championships beginning on Tuesday.

Sandeep and Priyanka are the men's and women's national record holders in the 20km race walk event and they would look to clock better than 1:20:10 and 1:29:20, the qualifying standard for the World Championships in Hungary in August.

On the other hand, Ram Baboo and Ramandeep Kaur, the men's and women's national record holders in 35km race walk event, would try to breach 2:29:40 and 2:51:30 if they want to compete in the global showpiece.

Haryana veteran Sandeep will be looking to win the men's 20km title for the fourth time in a row. Young Amit Khatri will be hoping to not only be on the podium this time but also mount a challenge to the senior Haryana athlete.

Priyanka of Uttar Pradesh, who did not finish the 20km race here in April last, will be eager to regain the national crown. Her competition with Bhawna Jat (Rajasthan) will be interesting to watch. Priyanka leads 7-3 in head-to-head meetings against Bhawna in the 20km event since they first squared up in 2017.

Ram Baboo (Uttar Pradesh) and defending champion Juned Khand (Haryana) have been in the forefront of the men's 35km race walk scene in India and can be expected to feature prominently in the battle for honours.

Last year's winner Ravina and bronze medallist Sonal Sukhwal are competing in the 35km race. Their presence along with that of defending champion Ramandeep Kaur (Punjab) and other medallists from last year -- Manju (Punjab) and Payal (Uttarakhand) -- can make for a very competitive event.