Ranchi, May 21 (PTI) A host of the country’s top track and field stars will seek to impress national selectors for 2026 Commonwealth Games berth during the four-day Senior Federation Competition beginning here on Friday.
The meet is also significant as it is the first time the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) will conduct SRY Gene Test at the national level in a bid to ensure that only biological females compete in women’s category. It’s a mandatory once-in-a-lifetime test will be conducted via a cheek swab or blood test.
The AFI will also start DNA testing of the Indian athletes to collect and preserve their data which could be used later for research and development, prevention of injuries, among other reasons. The results and records of both the SRY tests and DNA tests will be kept confidential.
Besides being the final selection event for the 2026 CWG in Glasgow (July 23 to August 2), the May 22-24 Federation Competition will also serve as the trials for the inaugural Asian U23 Championships, to be held in China from July 9 to 12.
The meet will, however, not see in action the likes of star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and 3000m steeplechaser Avinash Sable.
Two-time Olympic medallist Chopra has participated in a national event only once in the last five years as he trains and competes in major international events like the Diamond League and World Championships.
Chopra last competed in a national event at the Federation Cup in Bhubaneswar in 2024. Before that, he took part in the 2021 edition of the Federation Cup.
Recuperating from a back injury, Chopra will head to Switzerland from May 25 for a 47-day off-season training camp in Bienne.
Sable, meanwhile, had undergone anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery in July 2025 after suffering the injury during the Monaco Diamond League.
Women’s 3000m steeplechase national record holder Parul Chaudhary has also not entered her name for the Ranchi meet. She recorded her second career-best time to finish seventh in the season-opening Diamond League meeting in Shanghai on May 16.
Long distance runner Gulveer Singh, a national record holder in 5000m and 10000m, will also skip the meet. The government recently cleared his proposal for foreign training and competition exposure, along with his coach, in the United States from May 15 to June 17.
Sprinter Hima Das, who had begun her season during the Indian Athletics Series 3 in New Delhi in April, has not entered her name.
Among the top athletes who will compete in Ranchi are javelin thrower Sachin Yadav, long jumper Murali Sreeshanker, sprinter Animesh Kujur, quartermiler Vishal TK, high hurdler Tejas Shirse, decathlete Tejaswin Shankar.
National record holder long jumper Jeswin Aldrin has also entered his name for the meet though he has not competed in any event this year. He last competed in an event in April last year.
The AFI had earlier said that the athletes must participate in at least two events organised by AFI to be eligible to compete in the Federation Cup.
But it is learnt that the federation has given exemption to some athletes like Aldrin and Yadav, and has allowed them to compete in Ranchi despite not fulfilling the condition. Yadav has competed in just one event this season — the Indian Athletics Series 3 in New Delhi in April.
Women’s 100m hurdler Jyothi Yarraji, who has started training after undergoing an ACL surgery in 2025, and reigning Asian champion heptathlete Nandini Agasara will also skip the meet.
The AFI has announced that any athlete who does not turn up in the Ranchi meet without valid reason after making entry could be barred from taking part in subsequent events.
Over the years, there have been cases of athletes entering their names but not turning up apparently due to fear of dope testing, leading to very few competing in a particular event.
The AFI is also sending less number of athletes to 2026 CWG than the earlier edition as the Glasgow organisers have limited the maximum number to 32, including 16 women. The national federation had already issued the qualification standards.
Kujur will have to better his 100m national record time of 10.18 seconds if he has to make it to the Glasgow team as the qualifying time has been set at 10.16 seconds.
At the 2022 CWG, India had sent 37 athletes and won eight medals, including a gold in men’s triple jump through Eldhose Paul. Sable had clinched a silver, while Chopra did not compete due to an injury.
First SRY Gene Test in national-level meet ========================== Meanwhile, the AFI has asked all female athletes participating in the Ranchi meet to carry their original passports along with them for the testing and verification process.
“The passport will be required as part of the documentation and identity verification procedure during the conduct of the SRY Gene Test,” the AFI said in a circular.
The SRY gene test was introduced in India last year to all the women athletes who competed in the World Championships in Tokyo, following a directive from the World Athletics.
The test is primarily used to identify the presence or absence of the SRY gene, which plays a crucial role in male sex determination during fetal development.
The samples will be tested by a World Athletics-accredited laboratory. Each sample will cost around Rs 3500. PTI PDS PDS AH AH
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