New Delhi. The first batch consisting 28 members of the Indian Athletics team including 18 athletes and ten members of support staff departed for the Japanese capital to participate in the Tokyo Olympic Games on Friday. The athletics events start on July 30 and will run through August 8, 2021.
India’s ace javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and Seema Punia, who will be competing in her fourth Olympics, will join the Indian contingent along with their coaches later this week. An 11-member race walking team consisting of six athletes and five members of coaching and support staff will depart for Sapporo in Japan on July 30.
Adille J Sumariwalla, AFI President said, “On behalf of the entire AFI family, I convey my best wishes to our team. We have spoken to each and every athlete in person and we have told them that they should give their best performance at the Games.”
Shot putter Tajinder Pal Singh Toor, who will be competing in his first Olympics, said, “I am really excited to go to Tokyo and compete. The preparations have been good and I will try my best to give my hundred per cent at the Olympics.”
The Indian Team:
Men: Avinash Sable (3000m Steeplechase); MP Jabir (400m Hurdles): M Sreeshankar (Long Jump); Tajinderpal Singh Toor (Shot Put); Neeraj Chopra and Shivpal Singh (Javelin Throw); KT Irfan, Sandeep Kumar and Rahul Rohilla (20km Walk) and Gurpreet Singh (50km Walk); 4x400m Relay: Amoj Jacob, Arokia Rajiv, Muhammed Anas, Naganathan Pandi, Noah Nirmal Tom; 4x400m Mixed Relay: Sarthak Bhambri & Alex Antony;
Women: Dutee Chand (100m and 200m); Kamalpreet Kaur and Seema Antil-Punia (Discus Throw) and Annu Rani (Javelin Throw); Bhawna Jat and Priyanka Goswami (20km Walk) and (Mixed 4x400m Relay): Revathi Veeramani, Subha Venkatesan & Dhanlakshmi Sekhar;
Coaches: Radha Krishnan Nair (Chief Coach), Galina Bukharina, Dr Klaus Bartonietz, Mohinder Singh, Uwe Hohn, Raj Mohan, Amrish Kumar, Alexander Artsybashev, S Murali, Ramesh & Alexander Sinitsyn;
Support Staff: Elmira Kesilva, Abhishek Pandey, Ishaan Marwaha, Dr Andrei Filimonau, Simoni Shah, Chandrej Kumar, Pawan Kumar, Ketan Hulawale, Dr Brajesh Koushle (Team Doctor) & Madhukant Pathak (Team Leader).
