State-level junior athletics meet in Pune from Nov 13

Pune, Nov 11 (UNI) Over 1500 athletes from 30 districts will be vying for honours in the three-day Poona District Amateur Athletic Association (PDAAA)-hosted MLA Trophy State Junior Athletic championship which gets underway here from November 13 to 15.

The boys and girls under-14 and under-16 events will be held at the newly-built Baburao Sanas Stadium, while the boys and girls under-18 and under-20 events will be held at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports City Mahalunge-Balewadi, according to PDAAA president Bharat Desadla.

Mr Desadla told reporters here today that the meet assumes importance as it would serve as the basis to select the Maharashtra contingent for the junior inter-state and national athletic championship to be held at Bangalore from November 25 to 28.

The Maharashtra Amaateur Athletic Association (MAAA) had originally alloted the championship to Buldhana district association but due to some technical difficulties, it was shifted to Pune, Mr Desadla said.

Meanwhile, a selection panel, headed by MAAA president Adile Sumariwala and comprising Rajendra Dravid (Pune), Utam Thakur (Amravati), Prof Narayan Khadke (Jalgaon), R B Patil (Kolhapur) and Prakash Banate (Parbhani) has been formed to selct the Maharashtra team for the Bangalore junior national championship, Mr Desadla informed.

A three-member selection committee, comprising Balkrishna Akotka, Suresh Gujarati and Ram Bhagwat, has also been formed to select talented boys and girls under 6, under 8, under 10, under 12, under 14, and under 17, for year-round coaching-cum-training camp to be held at the Baburao Sanas ground here, Mr Desadla informed.

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