India names 59-member team for Asian Athletics C'ships in Korea; Neeraj to skip

INDIA on Friday named a 59-member team for the upcoming Asian Athletics Championship in South Korea with star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra expectedly skipping the event, with almost all those who had excelled in the just-concluded Federation Cup in Kochi making the cut.

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Double Olympic medallist Chopra missing the event was on expected lines as his focus this season will be on the Diamond League Meetings and the World Championships in September, besides the NC Classic which he is hosting in Bengaluru on May 24.

Chopra has not competed in the continental showpiece since the 2017 edition in Bhubaneswar where he won a gold. Since then, his focus has remained on the DL Meetings, World Championships and Olympics.

National record holder shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor, who had won gold in the last edition of the continental championships, was omitted from the squad after he finished a disappointing second in the Federation Cup.

But others such as Avinash Sable (men's 3000m steeplechase), Parul Chaudhary (women’s 3000m steeplechase) and Gulveer Singh (5000m and 10000m) have been included in the squad, even though they did not take part in the Federation Cup as they were training and competing abroad after taking AFI's permission.