LIC-Maharashtra State Senior Athletic Championship 2019: 17 gold medals up for grabs on opening day

A total of 17 gold medals will be up for grabs on the opening day of 69^thLIC-Maharashtra State Senior Athletic Championship 2019, which commences at the University Sports Grounds, Marines Lines, today. The championship is being sponsored by LIC of India and supported by NEB Sports and Procam.

The star attraction on the first day of the two-day competition would be the men’s and women’s 100 metres sprints, which is scheduled for the afternoon session. The heats have been held earlier in the morning.

Indian stars Pratik Ninave, Ganesh Satpute, and Gaurang Ambre will be main contenders to emerge as the fastest man of the meet. In the women’s sprints, the fight for the top honours will be between Chaitrali Gujar, Siddhi Hiray and Ankita Gosavi.

The men’s 110 meters hurdles and women’s 100 metres hurdles will be another feature on the first day of competition.

The meet will start with the men’s and women’s 5000m events at 7.00am. Kisan Tadvi and Kalidas Hirave are the favourites to win the men’s race while Aarti Patil should win the women’s gold.

A record number of 1116 track and field athletes (828 men and 288 women) from 34 districts will be participating. The competition is expected to be fierce as every participant will aim to produce their best performances to finish with flying colours and brighten their prospects of selection to the Maharashtra team for the Open National Championship to be held in Bengaluru in October.

For the first time in the history of Indian Athletics, NADA will be present to conduct dope tests on the participants.

Athletes Participating In The Championship:

Women: Chaitrali Gujar (100m And 200m); Siddhi Hiray (100m And 200m); Nidhi Singh (400m And 400m Hurdles); Durga Deore (800m And 1500m); Poorna Raorane (Shot Put); Aarti Patil (5000m); Komal Jagdale (3000m); Ankita Gosavi (100m Hurdles); Archana Adhav (800m And 1500m).

Men: Ganesh Satpute (100m); Akshay Khot (200m And 400m); Gaurang Ambre (100m); Alden Noronha (110m Hurdles); Kisan Tadvi (5000m and 10,000m); Ranjeet Patel (10,000m); Pratik Ninave (100m and 200m); Abhishek Ubhe (110m Hurdles); Kalidas Hirave (5000m And 10,000m).