Kishore Jena to return to action at National Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships 2024

Bhubaneswar: Reliance Foundation athletes will aim to make their mark during the National Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships 2024, which will be held in Bhubaneswar from May 12-15, 2024.

Among the biggest names in action will be Kishore Kumar Jena. The javelin thrower, who will be returning to his hometown, has already breached the Paris Olympics qualification standard. Kishore is coming fresh off his debut at the Diamond League in Doha last week. This will be Kishore’s first competition in India this year. RF’s athletes have been in fine form at the beginning of this season and will look to continue their medal winning streaks at the meet which will feature a high-quality field.

Talking about the athletes and the importance of the competition, Martin Owens, Head Coach at Odisha Reliance Foundation Athletics High-Performance Centre said, “The overall participation numbers for the Federation Cup this year are very impressive for us. Kishore Jena will be one of the big highlights in the Federation Cup after his performance in the Diamond League. Javelin Throw will be one of the most interesting events this time. Continuing good form from the Indian Grand Prix 1, Animesh Kujur, Susmita Tigga and Lalu Prasad will aim for podium finishes. Laxmipriya Kisan will target the qualifying time for World Athletics U20 Championship in Lima. The target will be to beat personal bests and get the qualifying marks for various upcoming major tournaments.”

Animesh Kujur will compete in the 100m and 200m, while Asian Games Silver medalist Mohammed Afsal will participate in the 800m. Laxmipriya Kisan, who has been in fine form and clocked her Personal Best in 800m during the Indian Grand Prix-1 in Bengaluru last month, will compete in the 800m and 1500m events.

Long distance runners Kiran Matre and Dharmendra will look to build on their podium finish at the TCS World 10K Bengaluru 2024 when they take to the track in the 5000m race.

Jumper Swadhin Majhi will be in action too after his Bronze medal-winning performance during the 3rd Indian Open Jumps Competition and the promising Moumita Mondal will compete in the Long Jump and 100mH.

On the throws front, Damneet Singh, who broke the meet record during the Indian Open Throws Competition 2024 with an effort of 65.82m (Gold) in the hammer throw will be among the medal contenders. He will be joined by Harshita Sehrawat, who got a Personal Best with 59.78m (Gold) and Tanya Chaudhary (Silver 57.36m) in the women’s Hammer Throw. Discus Thrower Nidhi Rani will aim to emulate her podium topping effort from the Indian Open Throws Competition, where she won Gold with a throw of with 53.57m.