Star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will lead a 19-member Indian contingent at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo from September 13-21, marking a historic inclusion of four men in the javelin event for the first time.
Joining Chopra, a two-time Olympic medallist and defending world champion, are Sachin Yadav, Yashvir Singh, and Rohit Yadav, who earned their places through world rankings. Rohit received the late call-up after higher-ranked competitors withdrew.
The senior selection committee of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) finalised the squad, which includes five women. However, India will miss out on relay events this time, unlike the 28-athlete squad sent to Hungary in 2023, which included seven relay runners.
Chopra, who won gold in Budapest last year, remains India’s only realistic medal contender. “Sable, Akshdeep and Nandini are not in the team as they are not medically fit,” AFI spokesperson Adille Sumariwalla said at a virtual media interaction.
Despite qualifying, three athletes miss out due to injuries. Men’s 20km race walker Akshdeep Singh is not medically fit, heptathlete Nandini Agasara is recovering from an elbow injury, and star 3000m steeplechaser Avinash Sable, who cleared the automatic qualification mark, will sit out following ACL surgery in July.
Also read: Neeraj Chopra wins NC Classic with 86.18m throw
Chopra also met the 85.50m direct qualifying mark, allowing India to field four participants in the javelin, the maximum allowed when a wild card entrant is included. The remaining three athletes qualified via world rankings, ensuring a historic quartet for the country.
The selection deadline for most events was August 24. Entry slots are determined either through automatic qualification marks or world ranking quotas, with countries reporting withdrawals to World Athletics, which then reallocates the positions.
Indian Team:
Men: Neeraj Chopra, Sachin Yadav, Yashvir Singh, Rohit Yadav (javelin); Murali Sreeshankar (long jump); Gulveer Singh (5,000m & 10,000m); Praveen Chithravel, Abdulla Aboobacker (triple jump); Sarvesh Anil Kushare (high jump); Animesh Kujur (200m); Tejas Shirse (110m hurdles); Servin Sebastian (20km race walk); Ram Baboo, Sandeep Kumar (35km race walk).
Women: Parul Chaudhary, Ankita Dhyani (3000m steeplechase); Annu Rani (javelin); Priyanka Goswami (35km race walk); Pooja (800m & 1500m).
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