Organised by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board, a meet of this class was last held in 1995 during the SAF Games. With athletes from Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Ukraine, Iran and Maldives having fielded teams in earlier meets, Bangladesh, the new entrants, will put up a five-member squad.

After disappointing tracks at the Nagercoil and Thriuvananthapuram, the third leg held at the Kanteerva Stadium in Bangalore should have been a real solace for the athletes. Better timings by most athletes said it all. And there could be nobetter proof than Anil Kumar's (Services) feat of equalling the long standing record of Milkha Singh in the 200m (20.7s) set in 1960 at Lahore.

The synthetic track of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, said to be the fastest in the country, has helped many to carve a niche for themselves. Going by their performance and with the Federation Cup round the corner, the athletes seem to be peaking at the right time. It will not be a surprise if a couple of National records take a tumble.

Like the Bangalore leg, there will be 19 events (10 in men and nine in women). The only alteration will be that the women's 5000m will be run instead of 3000m. With the inclusion of Bangladesh, the competition in the 100m and 400m are likely to be keener.

Chintaka de Soya of Sri Lanka has proved to be the undisputed champ in the short sprint. But for the photo-finish with Thirugnandurai of India, it has been Chintaka all the way. With the track playing good, Chintaka is sure to better his timing of 10.42s set inBangalore.

Others hoping to make a quartet of wins will be Saraswathi Dey (100m), Neelam J Singh (discus) and Shakthi Singh (shot put and discus). About 257 athletes will be in fray, of which 62 are foreigners.