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On Saturday, April 6, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) announced a 14-member squad for the upcoming World Race Walking Team Championships, scheduled to be held in Antalya, Turkey, on April 21.
Ram Baboo, Akshdeep Singh, and Priyanka Goswami will be leading India’s squad in the campaign. A total of 10 members - five each in men’s and women’s categories - have been announced in the 20km race walking team.
Furthermore, the AFI confirmed the team for the mixed relay event, which is an Olympic qualifying event where the top 22 racers will secure their spots for the Paris Olympics 2024.
Interestingly, the first mixed relay team has two of the most experienced Indian racewalkers, namely Priyanka Goswami and Akshdeep Singh, while the second team has Munita P and Paramjeet Singh.
Indian squad for World Race Walking Team Championships
Men’s team: Suraj Panwar, Ram Baboo, Vikash Singh, Serving S, Arshpreet Singh
Women’s team: Manju Rani, Payal, Pooja Kumawat, Mokavi M, Ramandeep Kaur.
Mixed Relay: Priyanka Goswami-Akshdeep Singh, Munita P-Paramjeet Singh
The campaign in Turkey will comprise five events - senior men's and women's races over 20 km, and junior category events for both genders over 10 km. However, the 35 km racewalking event in both gender categories has been scrapped from the last edition.
The 35 km race will be replaced by a new Marathon Race Walking Mixed Relay, covering the Marathon distance (42.195 km). Teams consisting of one male and one female participant will race twice.
Notably, India has already secured four Paris Olympics places with a maximum of three spots in the men's category and one spot in women's racewalking. The mixed relay team would be aiming to add one more quota in this campaign.
Akshdeep Singh, Vikas Singh, and Paramjeet Bisht have secured their quota in the men's 20 km race walk after meeting the qualifying standards while Priyanka Goswami clinched the spot in the women's 20 km race walk. Moreover, Suraj Panwar, Servin Sebastian, and Arshpreet Singh met the qualifying standard in the men’s 20 km race walk.
However, the national federation can only send a maximum of three athletes in the men’s 20km race walk event for the quadrennial event. According to the Athletics Federation of India, the final selection will be done in June.
