Credit: Twitter
Neeraj Chopra, the reigning Olympic champion from Tokyo 2020, is set to headline the 28-member Team India squad at the World Athletics Championships 2023. The 19th edition of the biennial competition amongst the best athletes in the world is going to happen at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest, Hungary from August 19 to 27.
The 25-year-old was the silver medalist at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon, United States of America last year, with the 88.13 javelin throw, finishing behind Anderson Peters of Grenada, who hit the 90.54 mark at the Hayward Field. Earlier in the year, Neeraj Chopra had made a target for himself to win the gold medal in the world and breach the 90m barrier, and he is going to get that opportunity in less than a couple of weeks in Central Europe.
The Khangra-born athlete had taken a break for a couple of months, after winning the Diamond League title in Lausanne, Switzerland, in late June, to get himself best prepared for the upcoming championships. He has had a couple of injuries since his silver medal performance in Oregon last year, which was cited as the reason for skipping active javelin throw competitions in the build-up to the World Athletics Championships 2023.
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The announcement of the 28-member squad for the tournament was made by the Sports Ministry, instead of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI), which usually sends out statements to the contrary. One of the glaring misses for Team India in the World Athletics Championships will be the shot put athlete Tajinderpal Singh Toor, the Asian record holder, who is still recovering from his groin injury.
The Indian squad for World Athletics Championships 2023, with inputs from PTI, are as under:
Women: Jyothi Yarraji (100m Hurdles), Parul Chaudhary (3000m Steeplechase), Shaili Singh (Long Jump), Annu Rani (Javelin Throw), Bhawna Jat (20km Race Walk).
Men: Krishan Kumar (800m), Ajay Kumar Saroj (1500m), Santhosh Kumar Tamilarnsan (400m Hurdles), Avinash Mukund Sable (3000m Steeplechase), Sarvesh Anil Kushare (High Jump), Jeswin Aldrin (Long Jump), M Sreeshankar (Long Jump), Praveen Chithravel (Triple Jump), Abdulla Aboobacker (Triple Jump), Eldhose Paul (Triple Jump), Neeraj Chopra (Javelin Throw), DP Manu (Javelin Throw), Kishore Kumar Jena (Javelin Throw), Akashdeep Singh (20km Race Walk), Vikash Singh (20km Race Walk), Paramjeet Singh (20km Race Walk), Ram Baboo (35km Race Walk), Amoj Jacob, Muhammed Ajmal, Muhammed Anas, Rajesh Ramesh, Anil Rajalingam, Mijo Chacko Kurian (Men's 4x400m Relay).
