Neeraj, Hima named in Asian C’ships team

| | new delhi
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Neeraj, Hima named in Asian C’ships team

Thursday, 21 March 2019 | PTI | new delhi

Star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra was on Wednesday named to lead a 39-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), Dutte Chand (200m) and Annu Rani (javelin throw) 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.

Hima, on the other hand, took a break of one month from training at the national camp to appear for her 12th class examinations in Assam and that showed in her performance in the Indian Grand Prix series and the Federation Cup in Patiala.

In the third leg of the Indian GP in Sangrur on March 2, Hima finished fourth in the quartermile event with a time of 55.19 seconds, the worst of her nascent career.

The 19-year-old reigning world junior champion, who holds the national record of 50.79, won the Gold in the Federation Cup on March 18 but with a modest time of 52.88 seconds. She ran below the Asian Championships qualifying standard of 52.75 set by the AFI.

"She had a break as she had her exams. She is young and what is crucial at this stage is to conserve her. The biggest stress for Galina (400m coach) is how to conserve Hima so that she can do some great stuff in 2024 Olympics," AFI President Adille Sumariwalla said on the inclusion of Hima in the team.

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