Nagpur: Two athletes from Nagpur will be participating in the Indian Open Athletics Meet which is going to be held on Saturday at the Synthetic Track of Savitribai Phule Pune University. The meet is organised in collaboration with Maharashtra Athletics Association under the aegis of Athletics Federation of India.
Nagpur’s middle-distance runners Gaurav Toradkar and Shadab Pathan will be the part of the jumbo Maharashtra squad which will be represented by 95 athletes. The Indian Open Athletics Meet is taking place in Maharashtra for the first time. Toradkar will be taking part in the 1500 metres race, while this year’s State Senior Group Athletics Championship winner Pathan will run in his favourite 5000 metre race.
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15 july 2025
While Gaurav will represent Maharashtra, Shadab will run for the Army team. Around 350 athletes from all over the country have been given entry on the basis of their national-level competition performance. Dr Vibekanand Singh, head of the technical committee of Nagpur District Athletics Association and national umpire, has been appointed as the technical umpire for this competition, informed Nagpur District Athletics Association Secretary Dr Sharad Suryawanshi.
Gaurav is a member of Nav Maharashtra Krida Mandal and trains under the guidance of Jitendra Ghordadekar and Sayali Waghmare. Shadab is an athlete of Track Star Athletics Club and trains under international coach Ravindra Tong. Gaurav has won gold medals in 1500 and 5000 metres races in the Under-23 Boys’ Championship held in Mumbai last year. He clocked a best time of 3 minutes 52.10 seconds for the 1500 metres race in the State Senior Group Athletics Championship held in Nagpur. He had also won the 1500 metres race in the Maharashtra State Inter-University Sports Festival last season.
Shadab had set a new competition record along with the gold medal by completing the 5000 metres race in the All India InterUniversity Athletics Championship in 13 minutes 58 seconds. His best time for the 5000 metres distance so far is 13 minutes 53 seconds in the 8th National Federation Cup Athletics Championship. Dr Vibekanand Singh has previously worked as a technical umpire in National Games, Khelo India Games, Pune International Marathon, Maharashtra State Inter-University Sports Festival, All India Inter-University Cross Country Championships among others.
