CHENNAI: Once again Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will spearhead India's campaign at the World Championships in Budapest starting from August 19 to 27. The Athletics Federation of India has named a 28-member team, a heady mix of young and experienced athletes across multiple track and field events.
M Sreeshankar is the other athlete in the long jump who had shown promise leading up to the championships with a creditable 8.41m at the National athletics championships in June followed by a 8.37m at Asian athletics.
He, along with national record holder Jeswin Aldrin, should help India win more than one medal in the world. There are three triple jumpers Praveen Chithravel, Eldhose Paul and Abdulla Aboobacker.
Steeplechase exponent Avinash Sable, who has shifted his training base to alpine regions of Europe, is the other athlete who would be under the spotlight. If the national record holder is in scintillating form, another personal best is expected to fall if not winning a medal.
Young sprinter Jyothi Yarraji has been consistently improving and this would be another big test for her. Neeraj is not alone in javelin, Kishore Kumar Jena and DP Manu are part of the team. Both had thrown above 80m this season. And, of course, young Shaili Singh would be looking to make a mark.
For AFI, that this team is a mixture of youth and experience and is across multiple events is heartening.
"This is what we call bench strength. This is why we have so many athletes in some categories. There are two long jumpers, three triple jumpers, three javelin throwers, and three race walkers. So the competition at home is tougher for some than it is abroad," said AFI president Adille Sumariwalla.
"Take for instance the two javelin throwers, they have both thrown above 80m. Then there are two long jumpers who are world-class and triple jumpers as well. We are competing in multiple events. This is called performance. And this is a result of our long-term development plan. I always say that this is the ecosystem we have created. We support our athletes with coaches, physios, masseurs, and recovery experts. These things help athletes. We have provided a biomechanics expert for Neeraj. Sable and even some long-distance runners were training abroad. There are foreign coaches and experts."
"It is not just about competing anymore," said Sumariwalla. "All our athletes will perform well. We have come to a stage where athletes are showing where they belong. We are almost there. I am not just hoping to feel strongly that most of them will come up with their personal bests. And if they perform their best, in most events they should finish above 6-8."
In Budapest, one eye also will be focussing on the Asian Games. "This Worlds will give us a fair idea of our athletes' chances," he said. "We have had the best performance (equal in terms of medals) at the Asian Athletics Championships where we won 27 medals. There were top athletes who were missing. Similarly, we too did not have a few of our top athletes like Chithravel were not there. Similarly, some of the top athletes from China were not there. At the world championships, we are expecting almost all athletes and that will give us a chance to see where we stand. But I am sure this time we will do well and like Asian athletics, the Asian Games too will be our best ever. However, there is a rider as well. Competing against Chinese athletes in China too will be challenging."
The AFI president said that this world championships will be good for India in terms of performance. "We are no pushovers anymore. We have made a mark at the world stage. This is a new emerging India and we will do well."
Team
Women: Parul Chaudhary (3000m steeplechase), Shaili Singh (long jump), Annu Rani (javelin), Jyothi Yarraji (100mh), Bhawna Jat (20km race walk);
Men: Krishan Kumar (800m), Ajay Kumar Saroj (1500m), Santhosh Kumar (400mh), Avinash Sable (3000m steeplechase), Sarvesh Anil Kushare (high jump), Jeswin Aldrin, Murali Sreeshankar (long jump), Praveen Chithravel, Abdulla Aboobacker, Eldhouse Paul (triple jump), Neeraj Chopra, DP Manu, Kishore Kumar Jena (javelin), Akashdeep Singh, Vikash Singh, Paramjeet Singh (20km race walk), Ram Baboo (35km race walk); Men’s 4x4 relay (Amoj, Jacob, Muhammed Anas, Muhammed Ajmal, Rajesh Ramesh, Arul Rajalingam, Mijo Chacko Kurian).