Animesh, Sreeshankar, Sachin in focus at Continental Tour meet

Bhubaneswar will stage the inaugural World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze competition

- Shantanu Srivastava

A major aspect of staging international sports events is about home country athletes delivering success, or being in medal contention.

Only weeks earlier, a great example was provided by the Neeraj Chopra Classic. The host who gave his name to the well-attended meet also proved the hottest, his victory proving the icing on the cake.

Elite Indian athletes are no longer left searching for overseas exposure, although India still awaits a genuine star who can rise to compete on the world stage. After almost 15,000 fans turned up at Bengaluru's Sree Kanteerava Stadium to watch Chopra win the inaugural NC Classic on July 5, a more modest start will be made on Sunday when the Odisha capital's Kalinga Stadium stages the one-day World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze meet.

Bhubaneswar, a hockey city that hosted the Asian Athletics Championships in 2017, will hope to draw in the crowds and provide the stage for some impressive performances. It can both draw public engagement in track and field and also use the meet as a starting point for India getting to host bigger events.

Around 160 athletes from 17 countries are expected with 17 events scheduled for men and women.