Picture Credit: Twitter
India has announced a 54-member team for the Asian Athletics Championships, which will be held in Bangkok from July 12 to 16. The team features some of the country's top athletes, such as long jumper Murali Sreeshankar, shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor, decathlete Tejaswin Shankar and long jumper Shaili Singh. The team was confirmed after the Inter-State Athletics Championships which concluded on Monday in Bhubaneshwar.
Sreeshankar, who recently made history when he became the first Indian long jumper and third athlete from the country to finish in the top three in a Diamond League event with a third place in Paris. The jumper held the national record of 8.26m before Jeswin Aldrin broke it with an 8.42m jump and is ranked eighth in the world.
Toor, who recently broke the Asian record with a 21.77m throw at the Inter-State meet, will also be eyeing a podium finish. Tejaswin Shankar, who switched to decathlon from high jump this year, will be making his debut in the multi-event discipline at the Asian level. Shankar secured the bronze medal at the event in Birmingham with a jump of 2.22m; making it India's first-ever high jump medal at the Commonwealth Games.
Shaili Singh, who is coached by legendary athlete Anju Bobby George, will be another young talent to watch out for. In April, Shaili achieved a remarkable jump of 6.76m, marking the second-longest distance ever recorded by an Indian woman. The Asian Athletics Championships will serve as a preparatory event for the Asian Games, which will be held in Hangzhou, China from September 10 to 25.
Here is the full squad:
Men:
Rajesh Ramesh and Muhammed Ajmal (400m/4x400m Relay/4x400m Mixed Relay), Amoj Jacob (4x400m Relay/4x400m Mixed Relay), Nihal Joel William, Mijo Chacko Kurian and Muhammed Anas Yahiya (4x400m Relay), Krishan Kumar and Mohammed Afsal (800m), Ajay Kumar Saroj and Jinson Johnson (1500m), Gulveer Singh (5000m/10000m), Abhishek Pal (5000m/10000m), Mohammed Nurhasan and Bal Kishan (3000m Steeplechase), Yashas Palaksha and Santhosh Kumar (400m hurdles), Tejaswin Shankar (Decathlon), Sarvesh Anil Kushare (High Jump), Jeswin Aldrin and Murali Sreeshankar (Long Jump), Praveen Chithravel and Abdulla Aboobacker (Triple Jump), Tajinderpal Singh Toor and Karanveer Singh (Shot Put), Rohit Yadav and D P Manu (Javelin Throw), Akshdeep Singh and Vikash Singh (20km Race Walk).
Women:
Jyothi Yarraji (200m/100m Hurdles), Nithya Ramraj (100m Hurdles), Aishwarya Mishra (400m/4x400m Relay/4x400m Mixed Relay), Chanda and Lavika Sharma (800m), Lili Das (1500m), Ankita (5000m), Parul Chaudhary (5000m/3000m Steeplechase), Sanjivani Jadhav (10000m), Priti (3000m Steeplechase), Pooja and Rubina Yadav (High Jump), Baranica Elangovan (Pole Vault), Shaili Singh and Ancy Sojan (Long Jump), Abha Khatua and Manpreet Kaur (Shot Put), Annu Rani (Javelin Throw), Swapna Barman (Heptathlon), Priyanka and Bhawna Jat (20km Race Walk), Rezoana Mallick Heena and Jyothika Sri Dandi (4x400m Relay/4x400m Mixed Relay), Anjali Devi, Jisna Mathew and Subha Venkatesan (4x400).
