The 57th National Open Athletics Championships 2017 will begin at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai today. Around 1200 athletes from various states and departments and public sector undertakings would be taking part in the four-day meet. Besides, state teams, numerous athletes will also participate on behalf of their institutions. Among the institutions to be represented include All India Police Sports Board, ONGC, LIC, apart from the Railways and Services. The host state, Tamil Nadu, would be represented by 41 men and 35 women athletes.