Over 1,000 participants in Maharashtra Athletics Championship

Over 1,100 track and field athletes from 34 districts will compete in the 69th Maharashtra State Senior Athletics Championship which begins here Tuesday. For the first time, the athletes will be subjected to dope tests by NADA at the state championship.

The two-day competition will see international athletes like Chaitrali Gujar (100m and 200m), Nidhi Singh (400m and 400m hurdles), Abhishek Ubhe (110m hurdles) and Akshay Khot (200m and 400m), among others, in action. Total 1,116entries have been received for the event.

On the first day, a total of 17 gold medals are up for grab and the key events on day one are men's and women's 10 metres sprints. Indian starts Pratik Ninave, Ganesh Satpute and Gaurang Ambre are the main contenders to emerge as the fastest man of the meet.

The Pune district will be sending the largest contingent of 95 athletes, including 53 men, for the event being hosted by Mumbai after 10 years on the synthetic track at the University Stadium, located adjacent to the Wankhede Stadium. The competition is expected to be fierce in a bid to book berths in the Maharashtra squad for the National Senior Inter-State Championship to be held in Lucknow in August.