Athletes, away from the track and field for nearly a year for the Covid pandemic, will be back in action on Wednesday _ at least in East Singhbhum to begin with.

The East Singhbhum District Athletics Association has switched gears to conduct a cross country event for boys and girls from Jaipal ground at Karandih here on Wednesday, January 27.

“Performance of the athletes will be the yardstick for selection of the district squad for the 12th Jharkhand State Cross Country Championship to be held in Deogarh on January 31,” said association secretary Ravinder Murmu

According to him, the competition will be conducted in various categories, namely, senior men and women (10 km), under-20 boys (8 km), under-20 girls (6 km), under-18 boys (6 km), under-18 girls (4 km) under-16 boys (2 km) and under-16 girls (2 km).

“Participants have to report to technical committee chairman Ranjeet Kumar Singh at the venue at 9am before the start of the competition,” Murmu said, adding this is the first athletics event in the district after the pandemic.

He, however, admitted that condition of the ground was not good. “We are helpless since we are not permitted to hold competitions in stadiums in Jamshedpur. The stadiums are still out of bounds for the athletes. We had to resume our activities and Jaipal ground was the only option available,” Murmu said.

The Murmu said shot-putter Pankaj Yadav and long jumper Manpreet Kaur from East Singhbhum are part of the state outfit at the Junior Federation Cup Athletics Championship which started in Bhopal on Monday. “Performance during the Federation Cup will be key for athletes when it comes to finding a spot in the national squad for the Junior World Championship, which is scheduled in Nairobi, Kenya in August,” he said.

According to Murmu, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) is organising a pre level-1 online coaching course. Sports teachers, parents of athletes, and former athletes can register at www.indianathletics.in . The Last date for registration is January 31.