Veena, Pankti are the stars in athletic trials

Veena also effortlessly improved upon her timing in 800 meters during the selection trials. She covered the distance in 2:22.77 against her previous best of 2:25.43 which she had clocked in the Cuttack Junior Nationals.

Pankti Lakra, a trainee of SAI Sports Hostel, Sector 18, cleared the bar placed at 1.49 meters for girls under-20. Pankti, a student of GGS College, Sector 26, is another national camper. The winner of bronze medal with 1.49 meters in the Cuttack Junior Nationals, Pankti recently the national junior camp at Gandhinagar.

Amardeep Singh of DAV College, Sector 10, a silver medallist in the All-India Inter-University Championship, also gave a good display in the 10 km walk for boys under-20.

Sakshi Sharma secured the first place in shot put for girls under-16 with a throw of 8.34 metres. The second placed Mukesh could record only 6.80 metres.Meanwhile, Amateur Athletic Association Chandigarh secretary Ravinder Chaudhary said that the selection committee would select the Chandigarh probables for the coaching camp before participation in the North Zone Junior Athletic meet. The camp will begin on August 5. During the camp, the coaches would monitor the progress of the athletes which will form the basis of final selection of the Chandigarh team. The qualifying standards have been fixed according to the positions in the last North Zone and Inter-Zonal meets.

More than 250 boys and girls attended the trials. Trials for boys and girls under-14 could not be completed due to heavy rain in the evening.