Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra included in 37-member national squad for Birmingham Commonwealth Games

India’s 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games champion Neeraj Chopra is among three javelin throwers selected by the Athletics Federation of India to compete at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, which starts on July 28.

Rohit Yadav and DP Manu are the other two athletes shortlisted in the men's javelin category for the major multi-discipline event. The AFI announced a 37-member Indian track and field team here on Thursday. The governing body is confident of a better performance from the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in Australia.

Adille Sumariwalla, the president of the AFI, said during a virtual media interaction on Thursday:

“The competition at the Commonwealth Games in track and field is tough. But we have a good team. We hope to do better than 2018."

Talented long jumper Jeswin Aldrin is a notable absentee from the Indian squad bound for the Commonwealth Games. Sumariwalla said the following about Aldrin’s exclusion from the team:

“Aldrin’s performance has declined in recent times."

The 2018 Asian Games champion in shotput Tajinderpal Singh and women's discus thrower Seema Punia will have time to prove their fitness in the coming days. Sumarwallia explained:

“Seema has asked for permission to compete in the USA. She will be included in the team if she is able to achieve qualification standard."

The AFI, however, didn’t include Tejaswin Shankar, who recently won the men’s high jump title at the NCAA in the USA, in the squad even though his gold medal-winning performance of 2.27m met the selection criteria set by the AFI. Speaking about the same, Sumariwalla said:

“To be eligible for Commonwealth Games selection, it was mandatory to compete at the just concluded National Inter-State Athletics Championships in Chennai. Shankar didn’t inform the AFI that he will not compete in Chennai.”

The AFI has selected the men’s 4x400m relay team for Commonwealth Games. However, the women’s team will not compete at the event due to below-par performances in the domestic competitions. The AFI president said the following about this decision:

“We are in the process of rebuilding the 4x400m relay squad. Hopefully, we will be able to bounce back in 2023 and win a medal at the Asian Games.”

Team for Commonwealth Games

Men: Avinash Sable (3000m steeplechase), Nitender Rawat (marathon), Murali Sreeshankar, Muhammed Anees (long jump), Praveen Chitravel, Abdulla Aboobacker, Eldhose Paul (all triple jump), Tajinderpal Singh Toor (shotput), Neeraj Chopra, DP Manu, Rohit Yadav (all javelin), Sandeep Kumar, Amit Kharti (race walking), Amoj Jacob, Noah Nirmal Tom, Arokia Rajiv, Muhammed Ajmal, Naganathan Pandi, Rajesh Ramesh (4x400m relay)

Women: S Dhalalakshmi (100m and 4x100m relay), Jyothi Yarraji (100m hurdles), Aishwarya B (long jump and triple jump), Ancy Sojan (long jump), Manpreet Kaur (shotput), Navjeet Kaur Dhillon, Seema Punia (discus), Annu Rani, Shilpa Rani (javelin), Manju Bala and Sarita Singh (hammer throw), Bhawana Jat, Priyanka Goswami (race walking), Hima Das, Dutee Chand, Srabani Nanda, MV Jilna, NS Simi (4x100m relay)