The big names in fray at the Indian Grand Prix 3, as expected, finished on top of the podium earlier this week at the Sree Kanteerava stadium.
But the gold medal winners weren’t too happy about their respective performances, claiming to be affected by summer heat, strong winds, and others still feeling rusty in the first competition after a long off-season.
Come Saturday, when the IGP 4 kicks off at the same venue, sprinter Amlan Borgohain and hurdler Jyothi Yarraji among others will be hoping to put up a better show en route adding more yellow metal to their collection.
While Borgohain - who clinched the 100m and 200m golds - will be looking to add another sprint double. Sreeshankar - who cleared 7.94m in his last attempt to finish first - will be missing in action but the men’s long jump competition will be spearheaded by Kerala’s Muhammed Anees Yahiya.
Shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor of Punjab will be the other top athlete in fray who missed IGP 3. The men’s javelin throw, however, promises to be a closely-fought affair with four throwers - Vikas (Punjab), home hope Manu DP, Shivpal Singh (Uttar Pradesh) and state-mate Rohit Yadav - battling for three podium spots.
With a timing of 13.44s in the women’s 100m hurdles, Yarraji, on the other hand, qualified for the Asian Games. But with her pet event missing in this event, she will be seen in action in the women's 100m and 200m races.
For Karnataka, Daneshwari AT resumes her rivalry with Tamil Nadu’s Archana Suseendran in the 100m dash while Jyothika who finished behind Assam’s Hima Das in the 200m in IGP 3 earlier this week hope to go one better to add more golds to the lone one the hosts won through Vijayakumari GK in the men’s 800m event.