NEW DELHI: The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) announced on Thursday that a 28-member Indian athletics team, led by ‘Golden Boy’ and men’s javelin throw defending champion Neeraj Chopra, will compete at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
India’s ace javelin thrower, Chopra, made history three years ago by becoming the first Indian track and field athlete to win a medal at the Olympics. He bagged the gold medal with a throw of 87.58m
In Paris, the Indian javelin throw ace will have the company of Olympic debutant Kishore Jena in the men’s javelin throw event.
Annu Rani, who won the gold medal at the Asian Games last year, will feature in the women’s javelin throw event.
Notably, the 28-member athletics squad for the upcoming Summer Games includes eight athletes who were part of the Indian contingent at the Tokyo Olympics. The Paris-bound squad includes 17 men and 11 women athletes.
Besides Neeraj and Annu, men’s 3000m steeplechase athlete Avinash Sable, one of Asia’s top men’s shot put athletes, Tajinderpal Singh Toor, women’s race walker Priyanka Goswami, and 4x400m relay runners Muhammed Anas, Amoj Jacob, and Subha Venkatesan competed in the previous edition of the Olympics.
Muhammed Anas, part of the Indian men’s 4x400m relay team, will make his third straight appearance at the Summer Games.
Ace hurdler Jyothi Yarraji, shot putter Abha Khatua, and steeplechaser Parul Chaudhary will make their debut in the Olympics.
Parul Chaudhary, who will compete in the 3000m steeplechase and 5000m race, is the only athlete chosen to compete in two individual events. She won the gold medal in the 5000m race at the Asian Games last year and a silver in the 3000m steeplechase.
Akshdeep Singh, Vikash Singh, and Paramjeet Singh Bisht will compete in the men’s 20km race walk event, while Suraj Panwar will feature in the mixed marathon event with Priyanka Goswami.
Akshdeep Singh, Ram Baboo, Vikash Singh, Paramjeet Singh Bisht, and Suraj Panwar were all eligible for selection for the men’s 20km race walk event at the Paris Olympics. Suraj made the cut through the world rankings, while the remaining four breached the qualification mark for the upcoming edition.
However, since each country is allowed a maximum of three athletes per event and one per gender in the mixed marathon race walk event, Ram Baboo missed out on a spot.
Commonwealth Games silver medallist, Priyanka Goswami, will be the lone Indian in the women’s 20km race walk event in Paris.
Murali Sreeshankar had met the entry standard in the men’s long jump but missed out on the Paris-bound team due to an injury.
Indian athletics team for the Paris 2024 Olympics:
Avinash Sable (men’s 3000m steeplechase), Neeraj Chopra (men’s javelin throw), Kishore Jena (men’s javelin throw), Tajinderpal Singh Toor (men’s shot put), Praveen Chithravel (men’s triple jump), Abdulla Aboobacker (men’s triple jump), Sarvesh Kushare (men’s high jump), Akshdeep Singh (men’s 20km race walk), Vikash Singh (men’s 20km race walk), Paramjeet Singh Bisht (men’s 20km race walk), Muhammed Anas (men’s 4x400m relay), Muhammed Ajmal (men’s 4x400m relay), Amoj Jacob (men’s 4x400m relay), Santhosh Kumar Tamilarasan (men’s 4x400m relay), Rajesh Ramesh (men’s 4x400m relay), Mijo Chacko Kurian (men’s 4x400m relay), Suraj Panwar (race walk mixed marathon), Kiran Pahal (women’s 400m), Parul Chaudhary (women’s 3000m steeplechase and 5,000m), Jyothi Yarraji (women’s 100m hurdles)
Annu Rani (women’s javelin throw), Abha Khatua (women’s shot put), Jyothika Sri Dandi (women’s 4x400m relay), Subha Venkatesan (women’s 4x400m relay), Vithya Ramraj (women’s 4x400m relay), MR Poovamma (women’s 4x400m relay), Prachi (women’s 4x400m relay), Priyanka Goswami (women’s 20km race walk and race walk mixed marathon). (ANI)