BANGALORE: "There is talent aplenty and the talented athletes need to be nurtured and given adequate exposure," Col. M.S. Khaira, Advisor, Business Promotion, Unitech Ltd., the sponsors of the fourth National youth athletics championship, said at a press briefing for the event here on Wednesday.

Talent is indeed bountiful in the country, but dope and overage issues have invariably belittled the on-field performances in the recent past. And that is once again a worrying factor when over 650 athletes will compete for honours in 40 events for boys and girls in the under-18 section as the two-day event unfolds at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on June 1.

The meet will be the basis of selecting the Indian contingent for the World youth championship to be held at Ostrava (Czech Republic) from July 11 to 13 and the probables for the youth Commonwealth Games to be held in Pune in 2008.

Tamil Nadu, as has been the norm in recent times, will field the biggest contingent of 59 athletes, while host Karnataka has named a 49-member squad headed by international Poovamma. Kerala, the defending champion, has a good sprinkling of internationals too in its 46 athletes.

23 States have confirmed their participation and the secretary of the Karnataka Athletic Association, Satyanarayana, is hopeful of many more making the event a memorable one with it being a qualification norm for two international events in the near future.

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