Top Athletes Gear Up for Paris Olympics Qualifiers Amid Chopra’s Absence

Despite the absence of Olympic javelin champion Neeraj Chopra, India's top track and field athletes are set to compete for Paris Olympics berths at the National Inter-State Championships. This event serves as the final qualifying opportunity for the upcoming Paris Games, coinciding with the qualification deadline.

The absence of Olympic javelin throw champion Neeraj Chopra notwithstanding, there will be no lack of star power as the country's remaining top track and field athletes vie for Paris Olympics berths during the National Inter-State Championships beginning here Thursday.

The championships will serve as the final qualifying event for the upcoming Paris Games where the athletics events begin on August 1. Incidentally, the final day of the four-day championships -- June 30 -- also coincides with the Olympics qualifying window deadline. Chopra will skip the championships as there is only a few days gap before the Paris Diamond League on July 7, in which he is set to compete. He competed in the Federation Cup in Bhubaneswar last month, winning a gold.

Last month, Athletics Federation of India (AFI) president Adille Sumariwalla made it clear that except for Chopra, it will be mandatory for all other athletes to participate in the National Inter-State Championships to get selected for the Paris Olympics.

AFI rules state that all athletes must participate in the National Inter-State Championships if they wish to be selected for major multi-sport events like the Olympics, Asian Games, or Commonwealth Games, unless the federation grants an exemption upon request by particular athletes or their coaches.

In the absence of Chopra, athletes like Avinash Sable (men's 3000m steeplechase), Kishore Jena (men's javelin throw), Ram Baboo (men's 20km race walk), and Parul Chaudhary (women's 3000m steeplechase) -- all of whom have already qualified for the Paris Games by meeting the qualifying standards -- will headline the Championships.

Other athletes who might qualify for Paris through world ranking quotas, such as Jyothi Yarraji (women's 100m hurdles), Annu Rani (women's javelin throw), DP Manu (men's javelin throw), Tajinderpal Singh Toor (men's shot put), Jeswin Aldrin (men's long jump), and Praveen Chitravel and Abdulla Aboobacker (both men's triple jump) have also entered their names.

Toor, an Asian record holder until recently, told PTI on Tuesday that he is dealing with a slight ankle pain, although his name figured in Wednesday's updated entry list.

Some rising stars, like sprinter Animesh Kujur, 110m hurdler Tejas Shirse, who recently set the national record, and long jumper Shaili Singh, will also be seen in action.

National record holder Manikanta Hoblidhar is set to be back in action after missing the Federation Cup. His 100m dash duel with Kujur, Amlan Borgohain, and Gurindervir Singh for the tag of the country's fastest man will be interesting to watch, although none are likely to make it to Paris.

Federation Cup 200m gold medallist Kujur will also compete against national record holder Borgohain in another duel.

Almost all the members of the Indian men's and women's 4x400m relay teams that have booked Paris berths will feature in the individual quarter-mile events.

National record holder 20km race walker Akshdeep Singh, who has also breached the Paris Games qualifying mark, is missing from the entry list, along with women's 20km race walk national record holder Priyanka Goswami.

The opening day will see just three finals -- women's hammer throw, and men's and women's 5000m races.

A few athletes from Sri Lanka and the Maldives are also taking part in the championships.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)