New Delhi, Jan 29 (IANS): The 24th edition of the Federation Cup athletics, to be held next month in Patiala, will serve as a qualifier for this year's Tokyo Olympics, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) said on Friday.

The Federation Cup was initially scheduled to be held from April 10 to 13 this year before being postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The competition will now be held from March 15 to 19 at the National Institute of Sport (NIS) in Patiala.

The Olympic Games are scheduled be held from July 23 to August 8.

Athletes will have to submit their entries online with the AFI, as offline entries will not be accepted. The last date for athletes to send their names is March 7. AFI secretary Ravinder Chaudhary said this in a letter addressed to all its affiliated units, and uploaded on the AFI website.

In keeping with the AFI's Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for conducting competitions amid the pandemic, relay events have been dropped from the list of events for the Fed Cup. The federation also said that athletes would also have to arrange boarding and transport facilities on their own.

"Pleased be informed that the boarding, lodging, and local transport facilities to participating athletes will not be provided by the AFI. Athletes will, therefore, have to make their own arrangements in this regards (sic)," said Chaudhary in the letter.

The AFI's competitions calendar restarted with the under-20 Federation Cup, which was held from January 25 to 27 in Bhopal. The senior Federation Cup will be preceded by three Grand Prix events, all of which will be held at NIS Patiala.