The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) recently announced the Indian team of 22 members for the World Athletics Championship 2022, which will be held in Eugene, USA, from July 15th to 24th. The Olympic Gold medalist Neeraj Chopra, who recently broke his own record and won a silver in the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, will lead the squad of five women and seventeen men.
A squad full of record holders
The 22-member Indian quad will be headed to Chula Vista, USA, before the Championship to train for a short while. There will be a total of 16 athletes competing in individual events, including seven national record-holders- Annu Rani, Priyanka Goswami, Neeraj Chopra, Avinash Sable, Sreeshankar, Tajinderpal Singh Toor, and Sandeep Kumar.
The members of the squad were selected on the basis of their world ranking and entry standard set by the World Athletics.
Women Squad: Annu Rani (Javelin Throw), S Dhanalakshmi (200m), Aishwarya Kailash Mishra (400m), Parul Chaudhary (3000m Steeplechase), and Priyanka Goswami (20km Walk).
Men Squad: Avinash Sable (3000m Steeplechase), MP Jabir (400m Hurdles), M Sreeshankar and Muhammed Anees Yahiya (Long Jump), Abdulla Aboobacker, Praveen Chithravel and Eldhose Paul (Triple Jump), Tajinderpal Singh Toor (Shot Put), Neeraj Chopra and Rohit Yadav (Javelin Throw), Sandeep Kumar (20km Race Walking), Amoj Jacob, Noah Nirmal Tom, Muhammed Ajmal, Naganathan Pandi, Rajesh Ramesh and Muhammed Anas Yahiya (4x400m).
According to the AFI president, Adille J. Sumariwalla, Amoj Jacobs, who has been selected for the 4x400m relay race, may have fitness issues. If he doesn’t regain his health, Arokia Rajiv will replace him.
