1k athletes take part in march past

Patna: Over 1,200 athletes from different states and union territories presented a well-synchronised march past on the beats of drum by BMP-1 and BMP-5, during the inaugural ceremony of the 18th National Inter-District Junior Athletics Meet (NIDJAM)- 2023 held at Patliputra Sports Complex here on Thursday.
Chief minister Nitish Kumar inaugurated and declared the athlete meet open by releasing the balloons.The oath-taking ceremony was administered by Piyush Raj and Tanya Mishra, both national junior athletic champions from Bihar
NIDJAM under the flagship of Athlete Federation of India (AFI), will feature five events each 100m, 600m, high jump, long jump and shot put for under-14 boys and girls, while the under-16 boys and girls will compete in 100m, 200m, 400m, 1000m, 100m hurdles, high jump, long jump, shot put, discus throw and javelin throw. The selected athletes will represent India in the Olympic Games 2028 and 2032.
Adille J Sumariwalla, president of AFI said 5,500 atheletes, 1,500 officials from across 600 districts of the country will participate in this mega event that will conclude on February 12. “A team of experts are here to identify the athletes with potential, so that we can channelize and groom them for future. Our star athletes are also here to encourage the upcoming athletes, including gold medalist Neeraj Chopra through online mode,” he said. He added: “During the athlete meet, we will conduct various workshops and seminars to educate the young athletes regarding adverse effect of over-training at younger age, use of forbidden substances to improve performance and how to safeguard themselves from harassment and sexual abuse.”