Asian Athletics Championships 2023: India name squad minus Neeraj Chopra, Avinash Sable

Tajinder Pal Singh Toor, the Asian record holder in men’s shot put, star long jumper Murali Sreeshankar and ace hurdler Jyothi Yarraji were named on Thursday in the 54-member Indian team for the Asian Athletics Championships 2023.

The 24th edition of the Asian Athletics Championships will be held in Bangkok, Thailand, from July 12 to 16.

Neeraj Chopra, the reigning Olympic men’s javelin throw champion, and Avinash Sable, a Commonwealth Games silver medallist in men’s 3000m steeplechase, however, won’t be a part of the Indian team for the Bangkok meet. Both athletes are currently training abroad for the World Championships scheduled in August.

The Indian team for the Asian Athletics Championships 2023 consists of 28 men and 26 women. The list was finalised by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) after assessing the performance of the athletes in the Federation Cup 2023 and other competitions held before June 6 this season. 

The performances at the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar from June 15 to 19 were not considered for the continental event as the entries were sent to Asian Athletics Association (AAA) on June 11.

Indian shot putter Tajinder Pal Singh Toor, a gold medallist at the 2018 Asian Games, will be one of the favourites for a medal at the continental meet. 

Toor had breached the Asian Athletics Championships and Asian Games marks during the Federation Cup in Ranchi in May this year. The Punjab athlete recently bettered his own Asian and national records with a throw of 21.77m at the National Inter-State Championships.

Jyothi Yarraji, the national record holder in women’s 100m hurdles, will be one of the frontrunners for a medal in Bangkok.

The 23-year-old Jyothi Yarraji has enjoyed a stellar season so far, having won multiple medals in athletics competitions abroad besides clinching the gold at the inter-state championships earlier this month. The Andhra Pradesh athlete had clocked 12.89s at the Federation Cup 2023 to qualify for the Asian Athletics Championships.

Meanwhile, Murali Sreeshankar, who registered a personal best jump of 8.41m leap at the National Inter-State Championships last week, and national record holder Jeswin Aldrin will represent India in the men’s long jump event.

Praveen Chithravel and Abdulla Aboobacker will also make for a strong Indian line-up in the men’s triple jump event.

Tejaswin Shankar will compete in the decathlon event at the Bangkok meet. Shankar won the men’s high jump bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham but has shifted his focus to decathlon recently.

Olympians Muhammed Anas Yahiya, Amoj Jacob, Annu Rani, Manpreet Kaur, Jinson Johnson, Ajay Kumar Saroj, Bhawna Jat and Priyanka Goswami are some of the other top names in the Indian squad for the Asian meet.

Rezoana Mallick Heena, the reigning Asian U20 women’s 400m champion, has been selected for the women’s relay team. However, quartermiler Priya Mohan, who won gold at the Federation Cup, missed out due to health issues.

Asian Athletics Championships 2023: Full Indian team 

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 DP 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)