World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze Meet in Bhubaneswar: List of Top Athletes Participating, Date, Venue

New Delhi, Aug 6: The Indian athletics calendar will reach a major milestone on August 10 when Bhubaneswar hosts the country’s first-ever World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze Level event at the Kalinga Stadium.

The one-day meet will feature 160 athletes from 17 countries, including 97 Indians and 63 foreign athletes. Nepal leads the foreign contingent with 13 athletes, followed by Sri Lanka (10) and Malaysia (9). The total prize money for the event is USD 25,000.

The men’s javelin event is set to be the marquee attraction, featuring a high-voltage clash between Indian and Sri Lankan throwers. With Neeraj Chopra absent, Sachin Yadav and Yashvir Singh will lead India's charge, while Sumeda Ranasinghe and Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage from Sri Lanka are expected to pose stiff competition.

• Ranasinghe has the season's best throw at 85.78m.
• Yadav, the Asian Championships silver medallist, has a season best of 85.16m.
• Pathirage (SB: 85.14m) and Singh (SB: 82.57m) also bring strong credentials.
• Other Indian contenders: Rohit Yadav and Vikrant Malik (both with 80m+ PBs).

Indian Athletes Representing Departments

Given the invitational nature of the event, Indian athletes will represent their respective departments, private entities or states such as NCOE Bangalore, Army, Air Force, Reliance, and JSW.

“If a national or continental record is made by an Indian athlete while representing a department or private body, it will still enter the record books,” clarified AFI officials.

Relay Events Dropped

The planned women's 4x400m and mixed 4x400m relays were dropped due to insufficient international participation. Only national teams are eligible to compete in relays.

Top Indian Stars in Action

Men’s 100m

Animesh Kujur (NR: 10.18s) faces Malaysia's Muhammad Azeem Fahli (legal PB: 10.20s; wind-aided: 10.01s).

Women’s Long Jump

• Shaili Singh – SB: 6.64m
• Ancy Sojan – SB: 6.54m
• Facing Alice Hopkins (GB & NI) – SB: 6.59m

Men’s 400m

Indian lineup includes Vishal TK, Rajesh Ramesh, Jay Kumar, and Amoj Jacob facing Sri Lanka’s Kalinga Hewa Kumarage.

Women’s 400m

• Aishwarya Mishra – SB: 51.12s
• Vithya Ramraj – SB: 52.81s
• Competing with Shirley Nekhubui (South Africa) – SB: 51.28s

Other Notables

• Murali Sreeshankar (Long Jump) – fresh from 3 consecutive wins post-injury
• Mohammed Afsal (800m) – NR holder

Organisers Eye Bigger Events in Future

The event is a joint effort by the Odisha Government and the Athletics Federation of India. While the AFI oversees technical aspects, Odisha is funding and managing hospitality.

“We’ve hosted the Asian Athletics Championships in 2017 and Hockey World Cups. This event boosts our international hosting profile,” said Odisha Sports Secretary Sachin Jadhav.

The AFI hopes this successful debut will pave the way for Silver or Gold level Continental Tour events in the future.