New Delhi, April 25 (IANS) The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) on Friday unveiled a strong 58-member Indian contingent for the upcoming Asian Athletics Championships, scheduled to be held from May 27 to 31 in Gumi, South Korea. The announcement came a day after the conclusion of the Federation Cup in Kochi, which served as the final selection trial for the continental event.
Headlining the squad are some of India’s top track and field stars including triple jumper Praveen Chithravel, long jumper Shaili Singh, and sprinter Animesh Kujur, all of whom are expected to lead India’s medal hunt. India, currently third in the all-time medal tally of the Asian Championships behind China and Japan, will look to better its previous edition’s total of 27 medals including six gold in Bangkok 2023.
The selection process was stringent, with the AFI making it mandatory for athletes to meet qualification standards at the Federation Cup and finish in the top two positions to be considered. AFI President Bahadur Singh Sagoo and chief coach Radhakrishnan Nair reiterated the importance of recent form in the final decision.
Notably, sprinters Gurindervir Singh and Manikanta Hoblidar, despite meeting the 100m qualifying marks earlier at the Indian Grand Prix-1, were left out of individual events after failing to deliver top finishes in Kochi. However, both have been named in the 4x100m relay squad.
Exemptions were granted to elite international performers such as Avinash Sable and Parul Chaudhary, given their consistent overseas records. Sable will compete in the 3000m steeplechase while Parul is set to participate in the 3000m steeplechase and 5000m events.
Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra, however, will not be a part of the Indian squad due to overlapping international commitments, including the Doha Diamond League and the Neeraj Chopra Classic.
The full squad that will travel to Gumi is:
Men’s team
200m: Animesh Kujur
800m: Anu Kumar, Krishan Kumar
1500m: Younus Shah
3000m Steeplechase: Avinash Sable
5000m: Gulveer Singh, Abhishek Pal
10,000m: Gulveer Singh, Sawan Barwal
Triple jump: Praveen Chithravel, Abdulla Aboobacker
High jump: Sarvesh Kushare
Shot Put: Samardeep Singh Gill
Javelin throw: Sachin Yadav, Yashvir Singh
Decathlon: Tejaswin Shankar
20km walk: Servin Sebastian, Amit
4x100m: Pranav Pramod, Animesh Kujur, Manikanta Hoblidar, Amlan Borgohain, Tamilarasu, Ragul Kumar, Gurvinder Singh
4x400m: Vishal TK, Jay Kumar, Manu TS, Dharamveer Chaudhary, Rince Joseph, Tushar Kanti, Santosh Kumar, Mohit Kumar
Women’s team:
200m: Nithya Gandhe
400m: Rupal Chaudhary, Vithya Ramraj
800m: Twinkle Chaudhary, Pooja
1500m: Lili Das, Pooja
3000m Steeplechase: Parul Chaudhary, Ankita
5000m: Sanjivani Baburao, Parul Chaudhary
10000m: Sanjivani Baburao, Seema
100m hurdles: Jyothi Yarraji
400m hurdles: Vithya Ramraj, Anu R
Long jump: Shaili Singh, Ancy Sojan
Heptathlon: Nandini Agasara
4x100m: Nithya Gandhe, Abhinaya Rajarajan, Sneha S, Srabani Nanda, Daneshwari, V Sudeeksha
4x400m: Rupal, Sneha K, Subha Venkatesan, Jisna Mathew, Kunja Rajitha, Sandramol Sabu
–IANS
hs/ab
