Top five foreign athletes to watch in 1st Indian Open 2025, Bhubaneswar

The 1st Indian Open 2025 will be held at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on August 10.

The inaugural 1st Indian Open World Athletics Continental Tour is scheduled to take place on August 10 at the Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar. About 160 athletes from 17 countries are expected to feature at this first-ever Continental Tour meeting happening in India, which is categorized as a bronze level event.

This meet will take place a month after the successful Neeraj Chopra Classic, held at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru, which drew a record crowd of 14,593 spectators for the javelin throw event.

While the Indian Open World Athletics Continental Tour will be headlined by many local stars like Murali Sreeshankar, Animesh Kujur and Mohammed Afsal among others, we will take a look at the top five foreign athletes to look out for at the meet.

Also Read: 1st Indian Open 2025: Full schedule, fixtures, Indian contingent, live streaming details

Foreign athletes to watch at Indian Open World Athletics Continental Tour event

5) Alice Hopkins (Women’s Long Jump)

Alice Hopkins is among the international athletes set to compete at the 2025 Indian Open, part of the World Athletics Continental Tour. Hopkins has a season best of 6.59m in long jump, which she registered at the UK Indoor Championships on February 22, making her one of the athletes to watch out for at the meet.

Her most recent competition was the UK Championships 2025, where she finished third with a best jump of 6.28m in the event which was won by two-time Olympic finalist Jazmin Sawyers, who recorded a top mark of 6.82m.

However, she is expected to face stiff competition from local favourite Shaili Singh, who has a season best of 6.64m. Meanwhile, Indian long jumper Ancy Sojan was scheduled to compete at the event but has withdrawn due to a muscle strain, bringing her 2025 season to an early end.

4) Shirley Nekhubui (Women’s 400m)

Shirley Nekhubui, who was a member of the South African women’s 4x400m relay team at the World Athletics Relays 2025 that won bronze, is another prominent athlete who will take center stage at the Kalinga Stadium for the competition.

Nekhubu’s season best in the 400m stands at 51.28s which she clocked at the FNB Botswana Golden Grand Prix, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting.

This impressive run placed her third at the event, behind Egypt’s Bassant Heida and compatriot Miranda Coetzee, who clocked times of 50.77s and 51.10s respectively.

Also Read: 1st Indian Open 2025, Bhubaneswar: Full list of athletes from India participating

3) Sumedha Ranasinghe (Men’s Javelin Throw)

Sumedha Ranasinghe, a seasoned javelin thrower, will feature at the Indian Open World Athletics event on Sunday. A six-time Sri Lankan national champion, he also holds the national record with a throw of 85.78m, achieved at the Sri Lanka Open Stage.

Most recently, he competed at the Asian Athletics Championships 2025 in May, finishing seventh with a best throw of 79.81m in the final. He will be aiming to better that performance with a stronger showing at the Bronze-level meet in India.

2) Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage (Men’s Javelin Throw)

A month after earning a podium finish at the Neeraj Chopra Classic, Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage will return to India where he will be aiming for yet another top result at the Indian Open, a World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze event.

In Bengaluru, he launched the javelin to a massive distance of 84.34m to earn the third place. 

Having displayed consistency throughout the season, he enters the competition as one of the favourites for a top-three finish in the javelin throw. However, Indian javelin throwers Sachin Yadav and Yashvir Singh are two big names who could pose a strong challenge to Pathirage and Ranasinghe at the meet.

1) Kalinga Hewa Kumarage (Men’s 400m)

Kalinga Hewa Kumarage is one of the biggest international names who will be competing at the Indian Open Athletics meet on Sunday.

He collected two bronze medals in the individual men’s 400m and 4x400m mixed relay at the Asian Athletics Championships, making him a serious contender for the gold medal at the inaugural World Athletics Continental Bronze meet set in India.

Nevertheless, India’s Vishal TK who narrowly missed out on a medal behind Kumarage at the continental meet, along with Rajesh Ramesh and Amoj Jacob, will headline the Indian contingent in the 400m and are expected to give the Sri Lankan a tough fight.

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