Neeraj headlines CWG squad

PTI

New Delhi, June 16

The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) today named a 37-member Indian athletics team, to be led by Olympics champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, for the upcoming Commonwealth Games.

Out of the 37 picked up by the selection committee, 18 are women, with star sprinters Hima Das and Dutee Chand getting selected for the women’s 4x100m relay team.

AFI president Adille Sumariwalla said that the selected athletes, except for those who have been asked to prove form and fitness and those who are competing abroad, will train in Chula Vista in the USA.

The team also includes Avinash Sable, who broke his own 3000m steeplechase national record for the eighth time recently, and Jyothi Yarraji, who broke her own 100m hurdles national record twice last month.

It also has Aishwarya Babu, who smashed her own triple jump national record with a stunning 14.14m effort during the recent National Inter-State Championships in Chennai.

Veteran discus thrower Seema Punia has been given a chance to feature in her fifth CWG considering her past performances in the Games. Punia’s participation, however, is subject to her achieving the qualifying standard set by the AFI in a competition in the USA

Shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor and discus thrower Navjeet Kaur Dhillon will have to perform to seal their places.