Indian team to fly out in batches for under-20 World athletics on Sunday

KOCHI

After many anxious days, the Indian team will finally leave in batches on Sunday for the World Athletics under-20 championships, which begin in Colombia on Monday.

The first batch will be flying out from Mumbai early on Sunday and after a 28-hour journey via Amsterdam and Bogota is expected to reach Cali, the championships’ venue, that same night.

“Ten athletes are in the first batch,” said an Athletics Federation of India official on Saturday evening. The Government has cleared 33 athletes and 11 officials for the Worlds, which run till August 6, but it was not clear on Saturday whether the entire team would be able to make the trip.

Quartermilers Priya H. Mohan, Rupal and Kapil are among those who will be flying in the first batch and they have their first event, the 4x400m mixed relay, on Monday evening.

The Indian team won the mixed relay bronze at last year’s under-20 Worlds in Nairobi. But with countries like the USA, Great Britain, Germany, and Australia back this year after skipping the 2021 edition, the competition will be a lot tougher this time.

Till Friday night, it was not clear whether the Indian athletes would be able to make it to Cali. They were a worried lot in New Delhi, but by Saturday evening many of them began flying out to Mumbai.