The delayed 2022 Asian Games has resulted in a packed athletics schedule for many of the continent’s biggest talents. The quadrennial event, which was scheduled to take place in China last year, was delayed by a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Because of that, the end of the 2023 season is a hectic one with a flurry of competitions starting from the Asian Athletics Championships, followed by the World Championships just a few days later.
With a busy schedule ahead of them, Neeraj Chopra and Avinash Sable have decided to skip the Asian Athletics Championships, which begins on Wednesday in Bangkok, Thailand and end on July 16. Many other top athletes from Asia are also likely to skip the meet to focus on the World Championships.
Triple jumper Praveen Chitravel and javelin thrower Rohit Yadav have withdrawn from the event to focus on their fitness ahead of the World Athletics Championships which gets underway days after the Asian championships. Also absent is Jeswin Aldrin who is recovering from weakness after a bout of Covid-19.
Athletics: Neeraj Chopra’s focus shifts to his fitness after winning second Diamond League meet
Medal favourites
In Chopra and Sable’s absence, long jumper Sreeshankar Murali, shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor and 100m hurdler Jyothi Yarraji are among the favourites to finish on the podium for India.
Toor is an overwhelming favourite to defend his 2019 title, having also won the Asian Indoor Championships in February.
Sreeshankar comes into the competition on the back of a third-placed finish at the Paris Diamond League and a fifth-placed finish at the Lausanne Diamond League. Despite Aldrin’s absence, Sreeshankar may yet face stiff competition from the likes of 2022 World Champion Jianan Wang of China, defending Asian Champion Yuki Hashioka and Hiromichi Yoshida from Japan.
Yarraji has been in good form coming into the tournament setting seven of her 10 top timings in the 100m hurdles this year. Key to her success, however, would be managing her workload as she has also been scheduled to compete in the 200m event.
With Chopra and Yadav skipping the event, DP Manu has a very good chance of clinching his first international honour in the javelin throw event. Manu has the longest throw among Asian athletes this season after Chopra. The withdrawal of Pakistan’s Commonwealth Games champion Arshad Nadeem means that Manu’s biggest competition in Thailand would be former Under-20 World Championship silver medallist Roderick Genki Dean.
The women’s long jump pit will see Shaili Singh and Ancy Sojan resume their rivalry with both serious contenders to finish on top of the podium in Bangkok.
At the 2019 championships in Qatar, Parul Chaudhary finished third in the women’s 5000m event and fifth in the 3000m steeplechase event. Four years on, Chaudhary has improved leaps and bounds, shaving almost half a minute off her personal bests in both events.
Indian squad for Asian Athletics Championships 2023
Men:
Rajesh Ramesh and Muhammed Ajmal (400m/4x400m Relay/4x400m Mixed Relay)
Amoj Jacob (4x400m Relay/4x400m Mixed Relay)
Nihal Joel William, Mijo Chacko Kurian (4x400m Relay)
Krishan Kumar and Mohammed Afsal (800m)
Ajay Kumar Saroj and Jinson Johnson (1500m)
Gulveer Singh, Abhishek Pal (5000m/10000m)
Mohammed Nurhasan and Bal Kishan (3000m Steeplechase)
Yashas Palaksha and Santhosh Kumar (400m hurdles)
Tejaswin Shankar (Decathlon)
Sarvesh Anil Kushare (High Jump)
Murali Sreeshankar (Long Jump)
Abdulla Aboobacker (Triple Jump)
Tajinderpal Singh Toor (Shot Put)
DP Manu (Javelin Throw)
Akshdeep Singh and Vikash Singh (20km Race Walk)
Women:
Jyothi Yarraji (200m/100m Hurdles)
Nithya Ramraj (100m Hurdles)
Aishwarya Mishra (400m/4x400m Relay/4x400m Mixed Relay)
Chanda and Lavika Sharma (800m)
Lili Das (1500m)
Ankita (5000m)
Parul Chaudhary (5000m/3000m Steeplechase)
Sanjivani Jadhav (10000m)
Priti (3000m Steeplechase)
Pooja and Rubina Yadav (High Jump)
Baranica Elangovan (Pole Vault)
Shaili Singh and Ancy Sojan (Long Jump)
Abha Khatua and Manpreet Kaur (Shot Put)
Annu Rani (Javelin Throw)
Swapna Barman (Heptathlon)
Priyanka and Bhawna Jat (20km Race Walk)
Rezoana Mallick Heena and Jyothika Sri Dandi (4x400m Relay/4x400m Mixed Relay)
Jisna Mathew and Subha Venkatesan (4×400)
Update: The article originally mentioned the presence of Bahrain athletes. However, Bahrain will not be competing at the Asian Athletics Championships.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!