Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports to sponsor 28 Indian athletes for World Athletics Championships
The 2023 World Athletics Championships are set to take place in Budapest from August 19. The Government of India's Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has declared that it will fund 28 Indian athletes for the upcoming mega event.
The funding for the World Athletics Championships will cover the basic expenses like visa, airfare, and lodging. Additionally, the funds will also cover training and an out-of-pocket allowance for the athletes.
Out of the 28 selected athletes, 13 are members of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme. The other 15 athletes are first-timers at the World Championships.
Out of the chosen athletes, six are from the 4x400 relay category, five are from the race walk event, four are from the javelin throw, and three each from the long jump and triple jump events.
The other seven athletes feature two 3000m steeplechase runners, and one athlete each for the 100m hurdles, 800m, 1500m, 400m hurdles, and high jump.
The 4x400 relay athletes are Amoj Jacob, Muhammed Ajmal, Muhammed Anas, Rajesh Ramesh, Anil Rajalingam, and Mijo Chacko Kurian.
The five race walkers are Bhawna Jat, Akashdeep Singh, Vikash Singh, Paramjeet Singh, and Ram Baboo.
The four javelin throwers are Neeraj Chopra, DP Manu, Kishore Kumar Jena, and Annu Rani.
The athletes chosen from the long jump event include Jeswin Aldrin, M Sreeshankar, and Shaili Singh. Meanwhile, Praveen Chithravel, Abdulla Aboobacker, and Eldhose Paul were picked from the triple jump category.
Parul Chaudhary and Avinash Sable were picked from the 3000m steeplechase event.
Jyothi Yarraji was chosen from the 100m hurdles, Krishan Kumar is the 800m runner among the athletes while Ajay Saroj was selected from the 1500m race. Sarvesh Kushare was decided on from the high jump category, and Santhosh Tamilarasan made the squad from the 400m hurdles event.
Neeraj Chopra primary medal hopeful at the World Athletics Championships
While India has so far only won two medals in the history of the World Athletics Championships, there are bright chances of an addition to that collection this year.
The biggest medal hopeful is Olympic gold medalist and 2022 World Athletics Championships silver medalist Neeraj Chopra.
Most fans of the sport have pinned their hopes of a medal on Chopra, whose best throw so far has been a remarkable 89.94 meters at the Stockholm Diamond League in Sweden.
Aside from his Olympic gold and World Athletics Championships silver, Chopra has also won gold at the Diamond League, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, and Asian Championships.