CWG 2022: Neeraj Chopra headlines India’s javelin men’s trio as AFI names athletics squad

Olympic Games Javelin Throw gold medallist Neeraj Chopra will lead India’s charge in Birmingham as the Athletics Federation of India named a 37-member squad on Thursday to compete in the Commonwealth Games from July 28 to August 8 this year.

The squad includes three male javelin throwers in Neeraj Chopra, DP Manu and Rohit Yadav (all three have crossed the 80m mark this season already) and three Triple Jumpers in Abdulla Aboobacker, Praveen Chithravel and Eldhose Paul.

“We are requesting the Indian Olympic Association to increase our quota by one and to assist in securing accreditation for a couple of athletes. We have also selected a few subject to their proving their fitness and form before the Games,” AFI chief Adille Sumariwalla was quoted as saying in a statement.

“Shot Puttter Tajinderpal Singh Toor will have to perform well in Kazakhstan while Amoj Jacob has been selected subject to his recovery and fitness level,” the AFI President added. “Similarly, Discus Throwers Navjeet Kaur Dhillon and Seema Antil Punia as well as Hammer Thrower Sarita Singh will have to perform in Kazakhstan or California. Race walker Bhawna Jat will have to prove her fitness.”

Seema and Navjeet had won medals in 2018 (silver and bronze in women’s discus) along with Neeraj’s gold.

Sumariwalla also confirmed that steeplechase national record holder Avinash Sable, Tokyo champion Neeraj Chopra and three-time CWG silver medallist in discus throw Seema Antil Punia, who are training overseas, sought and were granted exemption from appearing in the National Inter-State Athletics Championships in Chennai.

Recent national record setters Jyothi Yarraji (100m hurdles), and Aishwarya B (triple jump) also made the cut and will be keen to impress. In women’s javelin, national record holder Annu Rani made the cut.

One of the notable omissions is Tejaswin Shankar, the high jumper who was not given an exemption for missing the events in India. He had however met the CWG qualifying mark in the USA collegiate event where he had won gold recently. The AFI chief had recently said the athlete had not taken permission from the federation to compete in the USA, according to a report on Sportstar.

Out the of the 37 picked by the selection committee of the AFI as things stand, 18 are women. Sprinters Hima Das (who was impressive in Gold Coast in the 400m where she broke national record twice) and Dutee Chand got the nod through the 4x100m relay team.

India’s CWG 2022 team for athletics as of June 16, 2022:

Men: Avinash Sable (3000m Steeplechase); Nitender Rawat (Marathon); M Sreeshankar and Muhammed Anees Yahiya (Long Jump); Abdulla Aboobacker, Praveen Chithravel and Eldhose Paul (Triple Jump); Tajinderpal Singh Toor (Shot Put); Neeraj Chopra, DP Manu and Rohit Yadav (Javelin Throw); Sandeep Kumar and Amit Khatri (Race Walking); Amoj Jacob, Noah Nirmal Tom, Arokia Rajiv, Muhammed Ajmal, Naganathan Pandi and Rajesh Ramesh (4x400m Relay).

Women: S Dhanalakshmi (100m and 4x100m relay); Jyothi Yarraji (100mHurdles); Aishwarya B (Long Jump and Triple Jump) and Ancy Sojan (Long Jump); Manpreet Kaur (Shot Put); Navjeet Kaur Dhilllon and Seema Antil Punia (Discus Throw); Annu Rani and Shilpa Rani (Javelin Throw); Manju Bala Singh and Sarita Romit Singh (Hammer Throw); Bhawna Jat and Priyanka Goswami (Race Walking); Hima Das, Dutee Chand, Srabani Nanda, MV Jilna and NS Simi (4x100m relay).