Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], June 26 (ANI): World Athletics Vice President Adille J Sumariwalla praised the Odisha government for its contribution to the development of athletics in India, saying that improved support systems are directly reflected in athletes' performances and qualification standards.

Speaking to ANI on the sidelines of the 65th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships 2026, Sumariwalla said targeted support has helped Indian athletes consistently meet and exceed qualification benchmarks for major international events.

'The Odisha government is doing a lot, and you can look at the performance. When we provide good support, the athletes perform well. They are qualifying for every event, and it's not just about meeting the minimum Asian Games qualification standard; athletes are achieving third or fourth-place finishes that meet the criteria,' he said.

Highlighting the growing depth in Indian athletics, he added that multiple athletes are now qualifying across events, indicating a significant improvement in overall standards.

'You see 10 or 11 athletes qualifying across events; it shows how much the standard has improved,' Sumariwalla said. 'We are always hopeful about the Asian Games. I can certainly say that we will perform better than the last time,' he added.

Gold medallist in women's shot put, Manpreet Kaur has set her sights on breaching the 18-metre mark in upcoming competitions after delivering a strong performance at the ongoing athletics season.

'The qualifying mark was 16.35, and I've just thrown 17.75. My goal here is to hit the 18-plus mark in upcoming competitions. I am currently training at NIS Patiala and receiving excellent coaching there, so the aim is to keep improving... I've been working hard for quite some time with the specific goal of winning a medal,' she said.

Women's 200m gold medallist Harita Bhadra said she is now focused on winning a medal at the Asian level after clocking a new personal best at the ongoing athletics season.

'My previous personal best was 23.9 seconds, and today I clocked 23.14 seconds... Naturally, the next target, now that I've qualified, is an Asian medal, and training for that is already underway. I approached this competition with the mindset that I had already qualified, so the preparation for the Asian event was already in progress,' she said. (ANI)