New Delhi, Mar 20:
Star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra was Wednesday named to lead a 40-member Indian athletics team for next month’s Asian Championships in Doha, with sprint sensation Hima Das also making the cut in 400m despite her recent below-par show.
National record holders, Mohd. Anas (400m), Jinson Johnson (800m and 1500m), Dharun Ayyasamy (400m hurdles), Avinash Sable (3000m steeplechase), Tajinder Pal Singh Toor (shot put) and Annu Rani (javelin throw) as well as Dutte Chand (200m) were also among those named in the team.
Tejaswin Shankar (high jump) and M Shreeshankar (long jump) — both national record holders — were left out of the team for different reasons while seasoned campaigners Seema Antil (discus throw) and Arpinder Singh (triple jump) opted out of the continental showpiece to focus on the World Championships later this year.
Sanjivani Jadhav, who recently returned positive for a specified substance, was also named in the team for 10,000m race subject to clearance by the NADA.
The 22-year-old Jadhav was not handed a provisional suspension by the NADA and she won the 10,000m gold in the just-concluded Federation Cup which served as the selection trials for the April 19-24 continental showpiece.
The 21-year-old Neeraj, who won gold in 2017 edition, was given exemption by the Athletics Federation of India from taking part in the Federation Cup. He is currently training in South Africa. (PTI)
Follow our WhatsApp channel