Neeraj Chopra to spearhead India's campaign in World Athletics Championships

Neeraj Chopra (Pic: AFP)

Olympic gold-medallist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will spearhead India's campaign in the World Athletics Championships beginning on August 19 in Budapest, Hungary, as a 28-member team will represent India in the showpiece.

Surprisingly, the Sports Ministry announced the team instead of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI).

Asian record holder shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor has pulled out of the August 19-27 showpiece as he is recovering from the groin injury sustained during the Asian Championships in July.

National record holder high jumper Tejaswin Shankar, 800m runner K M Chanda and 20km race walker Priyanka Goswami (also national record holder) have also decided to skip the World Championships as they decided to focus their efforts on the Asian Games (September 23 to October 8) in Hangzhou, China.

Reigning Diamond League champion Chopra is seeking to clinch a gold medal in Budapest after winning a silver in the last edition in Eugene, USA, in 2022.

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The Team:

Women: Jyothi Yarraji (100m Hurdles), Parul Chaudhary (3000m Steeplechase), Shaili Singh (Long Jump), Annu Rani (Javelin Throw), Bhawna Jat (20km Race Walk).

Men: Krishan Kumar (800m), Ajay Kumar Saroj (1500m), Santhosh Kumar Tamilarnsan (400m Hurdles), Avinash Mukund Sable (3000m Steeplechase), Sarvesh Anil Kushare (High Jump), Jeswin Aldrin (Long Jump), M Sreeshankar (Long Jump), Praveen Chithravel (Triple Jump), Abdulla Aboobacker (Triple Jump), Eldhose Paul (Triple Jump), Neeraj Chopra (Javelin Throw), DP Manu (Javelin Throw), Kishore Kumar Jena (Javelin Throw), Akashdeep Singh (20km Race Walk), Vikash Singh (20km Race Walk), Paramjeet Singh (20km Race Walk), Ram Baboo (35km Race Walk), Amoj Jacob, Muhammed Ajmal, Muhammed Anas, Rajesh Ramesh, Anil Rajalingam, Mijo Chacko Kurian (Men's 4x400m Relay).

(With PTI inputs)