New Delhi: The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) named Thursday a 37-member Indian athletics team. The athletics team that will be led by by Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra also have Odisha’s Dutee Chand and Srabani Nanda. The selection committee picked the athletics team on expected lines with no major surprises.
Out the of the 37 picked by the selection committee of the AFI, 18 are women. Star sprinters Hima Das and Dutee Chand getting their berths through the women’s 4x100m relay team. The selectors also named a men’s 4x400m relay team.
The team also have the likes of Avinash Sable, who broke his own 3000m steeplechase national record for the eighth time recently. Jyothi Yarraji also features in the athletics team. Jyothi broke her own 100m hurdles national record twice last month.
Aishwarya Babu, who smashed her own triple jump national record with a stunning 14.14m effort during the recent National Inter-State Championships in Chennai have also been included in the team.
However, 200m national record holder Amlan Borgohain, who won a sprint double (100m and 200m) during the National Inter-State, missed the bus as he could not reach the CWG qualifying standard set by the AFI.
Although selected, some of the athletes will have to prove their form and fitness before the Birmingham Games, the AFI said in a release.
Veteran discus thrower Seema Punia has been given a chance to feature in her fifth CWG considering her past performances in the Games. Her participation, however, is subject to reaching the qualifying standard set by the AFI in a competition in USA. Punia has won a medal in each of the four CWG she has taken part earlier.
“Seema Punia’s participation in the Birmingham CWG will absolutely depend on her performance in the USA,” AFI president Adille Sumariwalla said.
There will be three Indians in the men’s javelin throw in the Birmingham Games with DP Manu and Rohit Yadav joining Chopra. The same is for men’s triple jump, with Abdulla Aboobacker, Praveen Chithravel and Eldhose Paul making it to the team.
The AFI has been given a quota of 36 in the Indian team for the July 28 to August 8 Games.
The team:
Men: Avinash Sable (3000m Steeplechase); Nitender Rawat (Marathon); M Sreeshankar and Muhammed Anees Yahiya (Long Jump); Abdulla Aboobacker, Praveen Chithravel and Eldhose Paul (Triple Jump); Tajinderpal Singh Toor (Shot Put); Neeraj Chopra, DP Manu and Rohit Yadav (Javelin Throw); Sandeep Kumar and Amit Khatri (Race Walking); Amoj Jacob, Noah Nirmal Tom, Arokia Rajiv, Muhammed Ajmal, Naganathan Pandi and Rajesh Ramesh (4x400m Relay).
Women: S Dhanalakshmi (100m and 4x100m relay); Jyothi Yarraji (100m Hurdles); Aishwarya Babu (Long Jump and Triple Jump) and Ancy Sojan (Long Jump); Manpreet Kaur (Shot Put); Navjeet Kaur Dhillon and Seema Antil Punia (Discus Throw); Annu Rani and Shilpa Rani (Javelin Throw); Manju Bala Singh and Sarita Romit Singh (Hammer Throw); Bhawna Jat and Priyanka Goswami (Race Walking); Hima Das, Dutee Chand, Srabani Nanda, MV Jilna and NS Simi (4x100m relay).