Neeraj to lead 37-member athletics team in CWG

New Delhi: The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) on Thursday named a 37-member Indian athletics team, to be led by Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, for the upcoming Commonwealth Games, with the selection committee picking the athletes on expected lines with no major surprises.

Out the of the 37 picked by the selection committee of the AFI, 18 are women, with the likes of star sprinters Hima Das and Dutee Chand getting their berths through the women’s 4x100m relay team.

The selectors also named a men’s 4x400m relay team. AFI president Adille Sumariwalla said that the selected athletes, except for those who have been asked to prove form and fitness and who are competing abroad, will train in Chula Vista in USA ahead of the July 28 to August 8 CWG and their visas are awaited.

The India team also have the likes of Avinash Sable, who broke his own 3000m steeplechase national record for the eighth time recently, as well as Jyothi Yarraji, who broke her own 100m hurdles NR twice last month. It also has Aishwarya Babu, who smashed her own triple jump national record with a stunning 14.14m effort during the recent National Inter- State Championships in Chennai.

However, 200m national record holder Amlan Borgohain, who won a sprint double (100m and 200m) during the National Inter- State, missed the bus as he could not reach the CWG qualifying standard set by the AFI.

Although selected, some of the athletes will have to prove their form and fitness before the Birmingham Games. Veteran discus thrower Seema Punia has been given a chance to feature in her fifth CWG considering her past performances in the Games. Her participation, however, is subject to reaching the qualifying standard set by the AFI in a competition in USA.

The squad: Men: Avinash Sable (3000SC, 5000m), Amoj Jacob, Moah Nirmal Tom, Arokia Rajiv, Md. Ajmal, Naganathan Pandi, Rajesh Remesh (4x400m relay), Nitender Rawat (marathon), Neeraj Chopra, Manu DP, Rohit Yadav (javelin throw), M. Sreeshankar, Md. Anees Yahiya (long jump), Abdulla Aboobacker, Praveen Chitravel, Eldhose Paul (triple jump), Sandeep Kumar, Amit (10km walk). Women: Dhanalakshmi (100m, 4x100m relay), Jyothi Yarraji (100mH), Manpreet Kaur (shot put), Annu Rani (javelin), Aishwarya B (long jump, triplejump), Ancy Sojan (long jump), Bhavna Jat, Priyanka Goswamy (10km walk), Hima Das, Dutee Chand, Srabani Nanda, Jilna MV, Simi NS (4x100mrelay). Conditional entries: Tajinder Pal Singh Toor (shot put), Navjeet Kaur and Seema Punia (discus throw), Sarita R. Singh and Manju Bala Devi (hammer throw), Shilpa Rani (javelin).