There’s an air of expectation around the 28-member strong Indian contingent that will be in action at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest (Hungary). There’s an Olympic champion, seasoned veterans and rising stars among the hopefuls with a few of them hoping to return home with a medal.
Led by champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra who is India’s top medal prospect from the event, the nation can dream of bagging multiple podium finishes with the likes of long jumpers Murali Sreeshankar and Jeswin Aldrin also in medal contention.
Here’s a look at India’s top medal contenders:
Neeraj Chopra (Javelin Throw)
It’s time for the poster boy of Indian athletics to claim the world for himself. He last won a silver at the championships and for him, gold will be in his crosshairs. His throw of 88.67m at the Doha Diamond League is among the top three of the season so far. The top two belong to Jakub Vadlejch (89.51m) and Julian Weber (88.72m). He was injured before making a strong comeback that saw him win the Lausanne Diamond League.
Jeswin Aldrin (Long Jump)
Going into the world championships, Aldrin is sitting atop the list of best outdoor jumpers this year. He started 2023 with a terrific jump of 8.42m but then his scores dropped thanks to a bout of coronavirus. Aldrin though made a decent recovery with a jump of 8.22m in Switzerland.
M Sreeshankar (Long Jump)
At the Asian Championships 2023, Sreeshankar clinched the silver medal with a jump of 8.37m making it the fifth time this year alone he made an 8m-plus mark. However, his best of the season came at the Inter-State Nationals in Bhubaneswar where he recorded 8.41m which is the second best of the season behind his countryman Aldrin.
Other Indians in Action
Javelin Throw
DP Manu (Men): Manu is 11th on the list of the top javelin thrower this year – 84.33m which helped him clinch gold at the Indian Grand Prix 4 in April. He won the silver at the Asian Championships with a throw of 81.01m. He will be hopeful of a top-eight finish in his maiden appearance at the event.
Kishore Jena (Men): At the Sri Lankan National Championships, Jena took gold with a personal best of 84.38m which helped him book a berth for the championships for the first time. Jena has crossed the 80m mark more than once this year and is a strong contender to make it to the final.
Annu Rani (Women): Her season-best throw of 59.24 is worse than as many as 32 of the 36 competitors taking part in the event. She hasn’t been her best this year and is not likely to make it to the final.
3000m steeplechase
Avinash Sable (Men): At the Silesia Diamond League, produced his season-best timing of 8.11.63s which was agonisingly close to his personal best of 8.11.20s. At the CWG 2022, he clinched silver with a new national record of 8:11.20s. He should make it to the final of the event and don’t be surprised if he returns with a medal.
Parul Chaudhary (Women): At the Asian Championships, Parul won the gold and at the USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix, became the third Indian to break the barrier of 9.30s with a timing of 9:29.51s.
Long Jump
Shaili Singh (Women): Shaili is just 18 and has strong displays coming into the championships. With a jump of 6.76m, she recorded the second-best leap by an Indian in history. At the Asian Championships, she won silver with a jump of 6.54m but winning a medal at the worlds will take some effort despite the field missing a couple of big names.
100m Hurdles
Jyothi Yarraji (Women): Yarraji is in scintillating form having won two medals at the Asian Championships – gold in 100m hurdles, silver in 200m. At the World University Games in Chengdu (China), she clocked 12.78s to improve on her own national record. If luck is on her side, she might make it to the semis.
Men’s 20km race walk (Akashdeep Singh, Vikash Singh, Paramjeet Singh)
Akashdeep, Vikash and Paramjeet will kickstart India’s campaign at the world championships on August 19. Akashdeep is the national record holder of the event with a timing of 1:19:55s (achieved at Race Walking Nationals). Vikash has a personal best of 1:20:5s while Paramjeet’s best timing is 1:20:8s.
35km race walk
Ram Baboo (Men): At Dudinska 50 – a world athletics tour gold event – Ram broke his own national record to finish fifth. He clocked 2:29:56s. China’s He Xianghong clocked the best timing of the year with 2:22:55s which is an Asian record.
800m
Krishan Kumar (Men): Qualified for the event on the basis of rankings. Krishan won a silver at the Asian Championships with a timing of 1:45:88s. He’ll be making his debut at the competition.
1500m
Ajay Kumar Saroj (Men): Ajay produced his personal best of 3:39:19s at the Portland Track Festival earlier this year. However, he’s 259th on the list of fastest in the category this year.
400m hurdles
Santhosh Kumar Tamilarasan (Men): With a personal best timing of 49.09, Santhosh not only clinched the bronze at the Asian Championships in Bangkok but also achieved a world ranking of 35 that helped him qualify for the world championships. Karston Warlhom of Norway has the best timing of 2023 (46.51).
High jump
Sarvesh Anil Kushare (Men): A silver medal at the Asian Championships helped Sarvesh book a spot for the world championships. With a jump of 2.26m, he also recorded his season-best mark. Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar has the best jump of this year – 2.36m.
Triple jump (Men)
Praveen Chithravel, Abdulla Aboobacker and Eldhose Paul have qualified for the world championships for the second time in a row. Chithravel holds the national record (17.37m) and won silver at the Asian Indoor Championships. On the other hand, Aboobacker won the gold at the Asian championships (16.92m). Eldhose was India’s top performer last year winning a historic CWG gold while also becoming the first Indian to make it to the final of the World Championships.
4x400m relay (Men)
Amoj Jacob, Muhammed Anas, Muhammed Ajmal, Rajesh Ramesh, Arul Rajalingam and Mijo Chacko Kurian are part of the team. India won the silver at the Asian Championships with a timing of 3:01:8s and will hope for a good outing after enduring a difficult 2022.
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