Neeraj to lead India at Asian C’hips

Chandigarh, Jun 28 

Former DAV College student and Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra is set to lead the Indian challenge at next month's Asian Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar.

India today named a strong 95-member team, including 46 women, for the July 6-9 championships.     

With am aim to garner maximum number of medals at the at the Kalinga Stadium, the country has fielded its best available athletes.

The event has an added importance as all the gold medal winners will qualify for the World Athletics Championships to be held in London in August.

Javelin thrower Davinder Singh Kang, who tested positive for recreational drug marijuana, has also been named in the team. He was not handed a provisional suspension as marijuana was a specified substance under the WADA Code.

"We have checked his case. Since Davinder has not been put under suspension, we have named him in the team. If the NADA (Disciplinary Panel) passes any order or suspends him before or during the championships, we will take him out of the team. But as of now, there is no bar on him," said Athletics Federation of India secretary CK Valson.

Moreover, the entries of seven athletes are also provisional and would be subject to their passing of fitness trials in Bhubaneswar ahead of championships.

Women athletes — hurdler and long jumper Nayana James and triple jumper Joyline Murali Lobo, discus thrower Vikas Gowda, long-jumper Siddharth Mohan Naik and triple jumper U Karthik will undergo trials on June 30 while high hurdler Siddhanth Thingalaya would face a trial on July 2.

Among the top athletes who did not figure in the team, include women's 3000m steeplechaser Lalita Babar, who married recently, and men's triple jumper Renjith Maheswary.

Athletics Federation of India President Adille Sumariwalla expressed hope that the athletes would do better than the last edition in China.

"Our athletes have had a string of solid performances in the run-up to the competition and we believe they are primed to deliver their best here. We are sure they would win more than the 13 medals claimed in the last edition at Wuhan in China. Our team has a number of proven performers and some exciting new talent," said Sumariwalla.

An Olympian sprinter himself, Sumariwalla said he was confident of Odiya women sprinters Dutee Chand and Srabani Nanda securing podium finishes. He also expected Amiya Kumar Malick to do well in the men's sprints.

"Besides, there are a number of talented athletes like javelin throwers Neeraj Chopra and Annu Rani, long jumper Ankit Sharma, steeplechaser Sudha Singh and quarter-miler Nirmala besides the 4x400m women's relay team that we have pinned our hopes on," he said.

More than 800 athletes are taking part in the event. This is the third time India is hosting the continent's biennial flagship event after New Delhi (1989) and Pune (2013). —  TNS/PTI

"Our athletes have had a string of solid performances in the run-up to the competition and we believe they are primed to deliver their best here. We are sure they would win more than the 13 medals claimed in the last edition at Wuhan in China. Our team has a number of proven performers and some exciting new talent" — Adille Sumariwalla, AFI head

Indian squad 

Men:  100m and 200m Amiya Kumar Mallick 400m Muhammed Anas, Amoj Jacob and Arokia Rajiv 800m Jinson Johnson and Vishambhar Keolkar 1500m Ajay Kumar Saroj and Siddhantha Adhikari 5000m G Lakshmanan and Murli Kumar Gavit  10,000m Lakshmanan, Gopi Thonakal and Kalidas Hirave 3000m steeplechase Naveen Kumar and Durga Bahadur Budha  110m hurdles Siddhant Thingalaya and Prem Kumar 400m hurdles Jabir MP, Santhosh Kumar T and Durgesh Kumar Pal Pole vault S Siva High jump Chethan B and Ajay Kumar Long jump Ankit Sharma, Samsheer SE and Siddharth Mohan Naik Triple jump Arpinder Singh and Karthik U Shot put Tajinder Pal Toor, Jasdeep Singh Dhillon and Omprakash Singh Karhana Discus throw Vikas Gowda, Dharamraj Yadav and Kirpal Singh Hammer throw Niraj Kumar Javelin throw Neeraj Chopa, Davinder Singh Kang and Abhishek Singh Decathlon Jagtar Singh and Abhishek Shetty 4x100m relay Amiya Kumar Mallick, Jyotishankar Debnath, Anuroop John, VK Elakkiya Dasan, Pravin Muthukumaran and Chintha Sudhakar 4x400m relay Muhammed Anas, Amoj Jaco, Arokia Rajiv, Sachi Roby, Mohan Kumar and Kunju Muhammed.

Women: 100m and 200m Dutee Chand and Srabani Nanda 400m Nirmala, MR Poovamma and Jisna Mathew 800m Tintu Luka, Archana Adhav and Lili Das 1500m Monika Choudhary 5000m L Suriya and Sanjivani Jadhav 10,000m L Suriya, Sanjivani Jadhav and Meenu 3000m steeplechase Sudha Singh and Parul Chaudhary 100m hurdles Nayana James 400m hurdles Anu R, Jauna Murmu and Arpitha M Pole vault KM Sangeeta High jump Sahana Kumari and Swapna Barman Long jump Nayana James, Neena V and G Karthika  Triple jump Sheena NV and Joyline Murali Lobo Shot put Manpreet Kaur, Ramanpreet Kaur and Anamika Das Discus throw Kamalpreeet Kaur Bal, Seema Punia and Himani Singh Hammer throw Sarita R Singh and Gunjan Singh Javelin throw Annu Rani, Poonam Rani Singh and Suman Devi Heptathlon Swapna Barman, Purnima Hembram and Liksy Joseph 4x100m relay Dutee Chand, Srabani Nanda, Merlin Joseph, Reena George, Ruma Sarkar and Himashree Roy 4x400m relay Nirmala, Poovamma, Jisna Mathew, Vijayakumari GK, Sarita Ben Gayakwad and Debashree Mazumdar