2024 Athletics National Inter-State Championships to also serve as Olympics 2024 athletics selection trials

The Athletics Federation of India has announced the tentative schedule of national tournaments for 2024. From the recently announced list of events, the National Inter-State Senior Championships will be of significant importance.

AFI President Adille Sumariwalla announced that the National Championships, which will be held between June 27 and 30, 2024, in Panchkula, will act as the final selection event for the Paris Olympic Games.

"The domestic competition in Panchkula will act as a final selection for the Paris Olympic Games," he said in a press release.

Before the Inter-state Championships in June, Indian athletes will keep their focus on the multiple international tournaments happening before that. The Asian Indoor Championships will take place in February, followed by the World Indoor Championships in March, and the 2024 World Relays in May.

The World Relays, which will be hosted in the Bahamas, has Olympic berths up for grabs and will be a crucial event for the country's athletes.

AFI announces 2024 domestic calendar

The Athletics Federation of India, on Wednesday, announced a tentative schedule of national events for 2024. Amidst a busy international calendar year, with the Olympics to be held in July, the federation has kept in mind various details before mapping out the schedule.

The year will kick off early in January with the National Cross Country and the 11th South Asian and Indian Open Race Walking Competition, before a break in February when Indian athletes will head to Iran for the Asian Indoor Championships.

March will see three domestic tournaments, and after a relatively lonely April, athletes will compete at the 27th National Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships in May, which is the first big national event of the year.

June will have the National Interstate Championships, after which the country's elite athletes will focus on the all-important Paris Olympics.

July will witness only one senior tournament, while August will have the 63rd National Open Athletics Championships. The Fourth Indian Open U23 Athletics will be held in September before the year tapers off with a zonal athletics meet in October.

Speaking on the design of the year's schedule in a release, AFI President Adille Sumariwalla said that the focus was on ensuring India's best athletes peak at the right moment.

“We want our core group of athletes to peak at the right time and excel at the international level."