World Athletics Championships 2022: Long jumper Jeswin Aldrin cleared, 400m runner Aishwarya Mishra dropped from Indian contingent

The World Athletics Championships 2022 will see Jeswin Aldrin of India in action. The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has given a green signal to the long jumper for competing at the event that starts on July 15 in Oregon, USA.

While Aldrin's name has been cleared by the AFI selection committee, India’s leading female 400m sprinter Aishwarya Mishra didn’t get the nod.

Despite achieving qualification marks in their respective events, both Aldrin and Aishwarya were asked by AFI to prove their fitness twice to be included in the national team for the mega event in Eugene.

Adille Sumariwalla, president of AFI, said in a statement:

“Aldrin got the nod after he leapt close to 8.00m in two confirmatory trials at Thiruvananthapuram and Patiala. We have decided to give Aldrin a chance to compete in the World Athletics Championships after he jumped 7.99m in the first trial and 7.93m in the second trial in Patiala.”

The AFI president added that Aishwarya hasn’t got the nod as she failed to come close to her personal best of 51.18 seconds, clocked on her way to winning the gold medal at the domestic meeting in April in Kerala. “Aishwarya hasn’t been cleared,” Sumariwalla stated.

Other Indian athletes in the fray for World Athletics Championships

Meanwhile, India’s Jakarta Asian Games Champion, Tajinderpal Singh Toor, bound for the Eugene World Athletics Championship, recorded a 19.96m throw at the MVA HP meeting in Chula Vista on Saturday. He earned the second spot in the men’s shotput event.

Almost the entire Indian contingent for the Championships, including long jumper Murali Sreeshankar, are currently practicing in Chula Vista. The only exception is triple jumper Eldhose Paul whose USA visa appointment is scheduled for July 11 in New Delhi.