Indian Open Series: Sachin Yadav headlines star-studded Delhi leg

World Championships finalist Sachin Yadav headlines the Delhi-leg of the Indian Open Series. The event at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium will see top athletes like Kishore Kumar Jena, Tajinderpal Singh Toor and Animesh Kujur compete.

World Championships finalist Sachin Yadav will be among the top Indian track and field athletes seen in action during the Delhi-leg of the one-day Indian Open Series scheduled for April 11 (Saturday) at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

Going by the number of entries, competition in almost all events is expected to be highly competitive, according to a press release. In the men's javelin, the focus will be on Sachin Yadav, who finished a creditable fourth with a distance of 86.27m on his debut at the 2025 Tokyo World Athletics Championships in Japan. Sachin Yadav, the 2025 Asian Championships silver medallist, was impressive last season. He is hungry and keen to kick-start his 2026 season on a bright note at his home ground this weekend.

Men's Javelin Heats Up

An exciting duel is expected in the men's javelin as India's rising javelin thrower Shivam Lohakare, Asian Games silver medallist Kishore Kumar Jena and Rohit Yadav, other top athletes in the fray, look forward to testing their preparation before the main domestic competition in May.

Two-time Asian Games champion, Tajinderpal Singh Toor, is also looking to further improve his performance graph on Saturday.

Sprints and Track Events

Intense 100m Clash

Away from the field event, the men's 100m field dash will be mouth-watering. National 100m/200m record holder Animesh Kujur is keen to showcase his sprinting prowess ahead of the May 22-25 National Senior Athletics Federation Competition in Ranchi.

Fresh from winning the 60m indoor title last month in Bhubaneswar, Gurindervir Singh, former 100m national record holder, will be keen to regain his position at the top. Other top sprinters in the fray are Tamil Arasu S, Pranav Pramod Gurav and Harsh Santosh Raut. All the top athletes will be eagerly looking to upset the established sprinters on Saturday.

Spotlight on 400m

In the men's quarter-mile, all eyes will be on national record holder Vishal TK. The Tamil Nadu sprinter clocked an outstanding time of 45.12 seconds, a national record, last year in August in Chennai. Muhammed Ajmal, one of the key runners of the national 4x400m relay squad, is making a comeback after an injury last season and will be one to watch.

Packed Schedule for Delhi Leg

The 16-leg Indian Open Series began on April 4 in Bengaluru, followed by the second leg in Jaipur (April 5). Due to the overwhelming response to the Delhi-leg, which is the third of the Indian Open Series, the competition is packed from morning till evening.

The men's 10,000m track race will be the first medal event of the day, starting at 6 a.m. While the men's 1500m race will be the last event of the day at 8:10 p.m. Competitors are categorised into different groups, and all races are finals.

Apart from seniors, competition will also be organised in the junior group for both men and women. (ANI)

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