Amiya Mallick and Sachin Yadav return to action at Indian Open athletics

Veteran sprinter Amiya Kumar Mallick returns to action in Ranchi

Veteran sprinter Amiya Kumar Mallick will return to action after a long break, hoping to prove he still has the speed to match the new group of Indians when he lines up for the 100m at the third Indian Open athletics meet here on Thursday.

The 32-year old former national record holder last turned out at the Open Nationals last year but was disqualified for a false start in the heats. Prior to that, he had participated at the 2023 National Games in Goa, finishing a disappointing seventh. He was, however, part of the Odisha relay team at the 2025 National Games.

Also returning to action at the Birsa Munda Stadium after more than a month of recovery will be javelin thrower Sachin Yadav. He is fourth on the World leading list for the year with a 84.39m throw for gold at the National Games, where he twisted his ankle.

His mark also makes him the fifth best Indian thrower of all time. Sachin targets the 85.50m mark to qualify for the World Championships later this year. Asian Championships bronze medalist Abhishek Pal has entered in the 5,000m.

Among the women, all eyes will be on Srabani Nanda -- participating in both the 100m and 200m -- after a disappointing outing at the National Games in February and Sanjivani Jadhav in the 5000m, among the few events that has decent participation in the women’s section that otherwise has few entries across events despite the AFI making it mandatory to participate in one of the Grand Prix/ Indian Open meets to qualify for the Federation Cup.