LUCKNOW, June 18 -- The three-day 23rd National Junior U20 Federation Athletics Championship, scheduled to be held from June 22 to 24, at the Madan Mohan Malviya Stadium in Prayagraj, will be the perfect ground for Indian athletes to test their skills before next year's U20 World Championship in Eugene, United States. The national championship was originally scheduled to be held in Indore. Now, the Uttar Pradesh Athletics Association (UPAA) will be hosting it under the directions of the Athletics Federation of India. "The national championship is the first step for next year's World Championships. Our juniors can test their skills in the domestic circuit ahead of the mega event. Some of them may be able to achieve the qualifying marks for the WC when the trials are held for the Eugene event," said former Indian junior athletics coach Chaudhary Kalam Ali Khan on Tuesday. "World champion Neeraj Chopra shot into the limelight through the Junior World Championship, winning a gold with a throw of 86.48 m in 2016. Since then, he hasn't looked back and went on to win gold even at the Olympics," said Khan. "That's why I find that junior meets are very important for Indian athletes to prepare well for the future." Besides Chopra, sprinter Hima Das won gold at the World U20 Championships in 2018. Navjeet Kaur Dhillon (2014) and Uttar Pradesh's Seema Punia (2002) won bronze in discus. Latr, Selva P Thirumaran (2022), Priya Mohan, Barath Sridhar, Rupal Chaudhary, and Kapil (2022), Rupal Chaudhary (2022), Shaili Singh, Amit Khatri, Abdul Razak, Priya Mohan, Summy, Kapil, Bharath S (2021) won medals for India. The Prayagraj event will also be the first one in the Sangam City, which is one of the biggest hubs for throwers in athletics in India. In the past, Prayagraj witnessed only the North Zone Championship. "Hosting the national championship in Prayagraj is a big moment for Uttar Pradesh," UP Athletics Association's technical committee head Anu Kumar said on Tuesday. Former Uttar Pradesh coach Rustam Khan sees the national championship as a big chance for Uttar Pradesh athletes to stamp their supremacy on the home turf. "If one wins a medal on the home turf, he or she will get extra attention from fans, and this will also open job opportunities for them. A podium finish at the national championship is good enough to fetch you a job in government and private organisations. Most of our athletes come from poor financial backgrounds," said Khan. In all, over 1200 athletes from 29 units across the country are expected to participate in the three-day championship. Also, 125 officials will be pressed into action to conduct the event. There would be 20 events each for both for men and women participants."We are ready to organise the championship. Arrangements are being made on a war footing," said Kumar....