Race Walker Bhawna Jat withdraws from World Championships, question mark on Seema Punia's participation

The qualification deadline ended on Sunday and World Athletics will publish the list of participants for the July 15-24 event on Wednesday. Bhawna, who was named in the Commonwealth Games team for 20km race walk "subject to health condition", has informed the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) that she wanted to focus on the CWG as she had started training just 10 days back.

Had she not withdrawn, she would have qualified for the World Championships through world ranking quota. Priyanka Goswami is competing in women's 2okm race walk event as she has qualified by breaching the entry standard. Veteran Seema Punia, who had breached the discus throw qualification mark in June last year, is likely to miss the World Championships as the Road to Oregon list of the World Athletics shows her as a withdrawn athlete. The same is the case for men's 20km race walker Rahul Kumar, who had qualified through entry standard route. His name is also mentioned as a withdrawn athlete in the Road to Oregon list of World Athletics. Sandeep Kumar has already qualified for the championships. The AFI on its part said the Indian team for the World Championships will be announced on Thursday after World Athletics publishes its list. The likes of Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopa, 3000m steeplechaser Avinash sable, shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor and long jumpers Murali Sreeshankar and Jeswin Aldrin have already qualified for the championships. Besides Chopra, Rohit Yadav is set to make the cut for the World Championships in the javelin throw event through world ranking quota. Praveen Chitravel, who won triple jump gold in the National Inter-State Championships in Chennai earlier this month, and Abdulla Aboobacker can be joined by