Toor, Sreeshankar, Tejaswin, Shaili In Indian Team For Asian Athletics Championships

India on Thursday named a 54-member team headlined by star long jumper Murali Sreeshankar, Asian record holder shot putter Tajinder Pal Singh Toor and new decathlon champion Tejaswin Shankar for the Asian Athletics Championships, to be held in Bangkok from July 12 to 16. The team, which has 26 women in it, was picked by the selection committee of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI), which had set qualifying marks for the Asian Championships, after taking into account the performance of the athletes in the various competitions this season.

A preliminary team for the continental meet was already picked after the Federation Cup in Ranchi in May. The National Inter-State Championships, which ended on Monday in Bhubaneswar, was used as the "confirmatory" event for for those who have not participated in the Federation Cup.

Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and Commonwealth Games silver medallist 3000m steeplechaser Avinash Sable were not named in the team as the duo will continue to train abroad for the World Championships in Budapest in August.

Indian athletics chief coach Radhakrishnan Nair had said during the National Inter-State Championships that the team for the Asian event would be announced after a review meeting of the AFI selection committee.

The Team:

Men:Rajesh Ramesh and Muhammed Ajmal (400m/4x400m Relay/4x400m Mixed Relay), Amoj Jacob (4x400m Relay/4x400m Mixed Relay), Nihal Joel William, Mijo Chacko Kurian and Muhammed Anas Yahiya (4x400m Relay), Krishan Kumar and Mohammed Afsal (800m), Ajay Kumar Saroj and Jinson Johnson (1500m), Gulveer Singh (5000m/10000m), Abhishek Pal (5000m/10000m), Mohammed Nurhasan and Bal Kishan (3000m Steeplechase), Yashas Palaksha and Santhosh Kumar (400m hurdles),