Asian Athletics Championships: Yarraji, Jinson, Elangovan, Afsal, Gulveer named in Indian squad

New Delhi [India], July 10 : Following an impressive performance during the 62nd National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships and 26th National Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships, athletes Jyothi Yarraji, Jinson Johnson, Baranica Elangovan, Mohammed Afsal, Gulveer Singh will now set their sights on the 24th Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok, Thailand, from July 12 to July 16.

Martin Owens, Head Coach, Odisha Reliance Foundation Athletics High-Performance Center, spoke about the prospects of the athletes. "Baranica Elangovan has a good chance if she performs up to standard. She looks good to challenge the Indian national record. Speaking of national record holders, Jyothi Yarraji has been in splendid form this year and we expect her to be very competitive. Jinson Johnson is a wily character with lots of experience, so I would expect him to be among the medals too. In the 800m, Mohammed Afsal is currently ranked 2nd in Asia. Gulveer's best chance is in the 10000m event as it is more of an open field. We wish the athletes the very best."

Jyothi and Jinson set to continue winning streak

National record holder Jyothi Yarraji will participate in the 100m Hurdles and 200m events. Jyothi has been in great form in 2023, clocking 12.89s at the Sr. Federation Cup to qualify for the Asian Athletics Championships. Jyothi has dipped below 13s five time in this year so far and will start as favourite in the 100m hurdles event. Her personal best of 23.42s in 200m was also achieved this year, a performance that would imbue her with plenty of confidence.

Asian Games champion Jinson Johnson will look to continue his dominant run during the Asian Athletics Championship. He breached the Asian Games qualification mark for the second time in the 1500m during the Inter-State Athletics Championships, clocking 3:42.77 to win the gold medal. Jinson already has a silver and bronze medal at the Asian Championships, which he won in 2015 and 2017 respectively. He will look to complete the set with a gold medal this time around.

Gulveer, Baranica and Afsal look to make their mark

Pole Vaulter Baranica Elangovan will be keen to deliver on her tremendous potential after rewriting her own personal best to 4.10 meters (narrowly missing out on a national record) during the Indian Grand Prix 4 at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru earlier this year.

Having breached the Asian Games qualifying mark, two-time national champion Mohammed Afsal will aim to perform consistently during the Asian Athletics Championships. The 27-year-old is high on confidence after he recently ran his career-best time in the 800m event while competing in Oordegem, Europe, where he clinched a silver medal. Afsal's effort there is also the joint-2nd quickest time by an Asian athlete this year in 800m.

Long-distance runner Gulveer Singh was in rip-roaring form during the Inter-State Athletics Championships, where he set a new personal best in 5000m with a timing of 13:43.23. That effort saw him win Gold and secured his berth in the squad for the Asian Championships. Singh backed the display by winning silver in 10000m at the same tournament with a time of 29:03.78. He will participate in both the 5000m and 10000m events at the Asian Championships.