KOCHI: It is as much a battle between schools for supremacy on the sporting field as it is a platform for budding athletes to express themselves.Come Thursday, the hopes and aspirations of the state’s young athletics talents will be put to test as the flag goes up for the 55th Kerala State Schools Athletics Championship at the Maharaja’s College Stadium here.The festive atmosphere of the state’s premier sports championship for school children is coming to the red synthetic track at the famed venue for the first time after its renovation in 2007.Ninety-four gold medals are up for grabs as 2,600 athletes from across the state are set to converge on Kochi for the four-day meet slated to run through to December 11. And watching from the stands, or the sidelines, will be the cream of Kerala’s rich history in athletics. Senior coaches like K T Thomas and P T Ouseph, along with Olympians like P T Usha and Mercy Kuttan will sure be scouting for that spark of fresh talent with potential.Ports and Excise Minister K Babu is scheduled to inaugurate the meet following a torch relay which started from Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday. The relay will arrive in the city on Wednesday and will be kept at the SRV High School, said the Ernakulam District Sports Coordinator Jose John.“On the inaugural day, the torch will be carried to the venue by the medal-winners from the previous edition,” Jose said. Hosts Ernakulam are geared up to defend their overall title, which they have been holding for the past seven years, on the strength of athletes from Kothamangalam schools Mar Basil HSS and St George’s HSS. Sacred Heart HSS, Thevara, which boasts of the trainees from the Mercy Kuttan Athletics Academy, will also add to the might of the champions.Keen competition is expected from the Palakkad, Thiruvananthapuram and Kannur teams, said Ernakulam District Athletics Association secretary P I Babu, who is also the coach of Mar Basil team.“Palakkad has a very strong team this time. We have to perform well to retain our title,” Babu said. Also at stake is the champion school’s purse of `1.1 lakh.In the Ernakulam revenue district championship held recently at the same venue,Mar Basil had emerged victorious, ahead of St George’s who had claimed the champion school title last year at Thiruvananthapuram by half-a-point.The championship is part of the Kerala State School Games organised annually under the aegis of the Directorate of Public Instructions.
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