Neeraj Chopra to lead team India in World Athletics Championships 2023

BUDAPEST: –India’s star javelin thrower, Neeraj Chopra, is all set to shine at the World Athletics Championships 2023 in Budapest. The event kicks off on August 19th where Chopra will lead the 28-member contingent in Hungary’s capital city. Surprisingly, this time, the Sports Ministry introduced the team instead of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI).

Chopra, who won a gold medal at the Olympics and is known for his amazing javelin throws, is aiming for another big victory. He had won a silver medal in the last championships held in the USA in 2022. This year, he has already won two important competitions in Doha and Lausanne.

Chopra had a little setback when he had a muscle strain during his training. He missed a few important competitions because of it. But now, he’s training hard in Switzerland to do his best in the upcoming championships.

Unfortunately, some other famous Indian athletes won’t be there this time. Tajinderpal Singh Toor, the record holder in shot put, had to withdraw because he hurt his groin during the Asian Championships in July. High jumper Tejaswin Shankar, 800m runner K M Chanda, and race walker Priyanka Goswami also decided not to participate. They want to focus on the Asian Games happening later in September in China.

Athletes who will be competing at the event are — Jyothi Yarraji (1OOm Hurdles – TOPS Athlete), (Parul Chaudhary – 3000m SC), Shaili Singh (Long Jump – TOPS Athlete), Annu Rani (Javelin Throw – TOPS Athlete), Bhawna Jat (Race Walk),  Krishan Kumar (800m), Ajay Kumar Saroj (1500m), Santhosh Kumar Tamilarnsan (400m Hurdles), Avinash Mukund Sable (3000m SC – TOPS Athlete), Sarvesh Anil Kushare (High Jump), Jeswin Aldrin (Long Jump – TOPS Athlete), M Sreeshankar  (Long Jump – TOPS Athlete), Praveen Chithravel (Triple Jump – TOPS Athlete), Abdulla Aboobacker (Triple Jump – TOPS Athlete), Eldhose Paul (Triple Jump – TOPS Athlete), Neeraj Chopra (Javelin Throw -TOPS Athlete), D.P Manu (Javelin Throw – TOPS Athlete), Kishore Kumar Jena (Javelin Throw), Akashdeep Singh (Race Walk – TOPS Athlete), Vikash Singh (Race Walk), Paramjeet Singh (Race Walk – TOPS Athlete, Ram Baboo (Race Walk), Amoj Jacob (4 x 400m Relay), Muhammed Ajmal (4 x 400m Relay), Muhammed Anas (4 x 400m Relay), Rajesh Ramesh (4 x 400m Relay), Anil Rajalingam (4 x 400m Relay), Mijo Chacko Kurian (4 x 400m Relay).