Asian Athletics Championships: Neeraj Chopra not named 54-member list; Tajinder Pal, Murali Sreeshankar, Jyothi Yarraji to lead Indian challenge

Bangkok [Thailand], June 23 : Asian record holder in men's shot put Tajinder Pal Singh Toor, long jumper Murali Sreeshankar and ace hurdler Jyothi Yarraji are named in the 54-member Indian team announced on Thursday for the Asian Athletics Championships 2023.

However, star athletes like Neeraj Chopra and Avinash Sable will not be participating in the 24th edition of the Asian Athletics Championships which will be held in Bangkok, Thailand, from July 12 to 16. Both athletes are currently training abroad for the World Championships scheduled in August, as per Olympics.com.

The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) announced the team consisting of 28 men and 26 women athletes in the Asian Athletics Championships in 2023. The Athletics Federation of India (AFI), which evaluated the athletes' performances in the Federation Cup 2023 and other events performed before June 6 this season, came up with the final list.

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.

At the Federation Cup in Ranchi in May of this year, Toor broke the Asian Athletics Championships and Asian Games records. At the National Inter-State Championships, the athlete from Punjab just surpassed his own Asian and American records with a throw of 21.77 metres.

On the other, the 23-year-old Jyothi Yarraji has been outstanding so far. He has won multiple medals in athletics competitions abroad and also clinched 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.

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).