Asian Athletics Championships 2019: The Indian Squad

The 23rd edition of the Asian Athletic Championships is getting ready to host athletes from every corner of the continent in the capital city of Qatar. Doha houses the Khalifa International Stadium which will transform into an Olympic-like platform, starting from the 21st April and will continue till the 24th of the same month.

The previous edition of the Asian Athletics Championships, which was held in Bhubaneswar, saw India bypassing China and Kazakhstan to emerge on top of the medal tally list with 22 medals. There are obviously sky-high expectations from the group of Indians headed to Doha to fetch back some laurels in the next few days.

Initially, there were 51 people who were selected for the squad and slated to compete in the Qatari capital. However, the big disappointment to medal hopes arrived in the form of star javelin thrower and flag bearer at the Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games 2018, Neeraj Chopra, having to pull out of the Championships at the very last minute.

Chopra, having suffered an elbow strain during practice earlier last week, decided to sit out the Championships and not defend his gold medal win from the previous edition after much contemplation with his coach. Other than that, things are on track with other big names like Hima Das, Dutee Chand, Jinson Johnson and Tejinder Pal Singh Toor going for the event with the hope of laying their hands on some medals.

Here are the names of the squad members to watch out for-

Men-

4x400m Relay - Arokia Rajiv, Md. Anas, Kunhu Muhammed, Jeevan KS, Jithu Baby, Alex A

800m - Jinson Johnson, Manjit Singh

1500m - Jinson Johnson, Ajay Kumar Saroj

3000m Steeplechase - Avinash Sable, Shankar Lal Swami

400m Hurdles - Dharun Ayyasamy, Jabir MP

Shot Put - Tejinder Pal Singh Toor

Women-

200m - Dutee Chand

4x400m Relay - Hima Das, MR Poovamma, Saritaben Gayakwad, Jisna Mathew, Vismaya VK, Sonia Baishya

1500m - Lili Das, Chitra PU

400m Hurdles - Saritaben Gayakwad

Javelin - Annu Rani

Heptathlon - Swapna Barman, Purnima Hembram