2022 World Athletics Championships: All you need to know
The 2022 World Athletics Championships are all set to commence on July 15. The 18th edition of the event will be held in Eugene, Oregon, USA. The 10-day event will host around 2,000 athletes from over 200 member federations across 49 events. India has sent a 22-member contingent for the meet. 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Neeraj Chopra will headline the event for India.
Presenting Indian men's squad for 2022 World Athletics Championships
Avinash Sable (3000m steeplechase), MP Jabir (400m hurdles), and Tajinderpal Singh Toor (shot put). M Sreeshankar, Muhammed Anees Yahiya, and Jeswin Aldrin (long jump). Abdullah Aboobacker, Praveen Chithravel, and Eldhouse Paul (triple jump). Neeraj Chopra and Rohit Yadav (javelin throw). Sandeep Kumar (20km race walking); Muhammed Anas, Noah Nirmal Tom, Muhammed Ajmal, Nagananthan Pandi, and Rajesh Ramesh (4x400m relay).
Here's Indian women's squad for the Athletics Championships
S Dhanalakshmi (200m), Aishwarya Kailash Mishra (400m), Parul Chaudhary (3000m steeplechase), Annu Rani (javelin throw), and Priyanka Goswami (20km race walking) constitute the Indian Women for the 2022 Eugene Championships. Overall, India will be participating in 13 track and field events.
Key players for Indian men's events
Neeraj cleared 89.94m - a new national record - at the Stockholm Diamond League. M Sreeshankar spearheads the team for long and triple jumpers. The 23-year-old's 8.36m is the joint second-best of the season alongside Tokyo winner Miltiadis Tentoglou. Steeplechaser Avinash Sable, who has been training in Colorado Springs, has slammed the national record twice in 3000m. He clocked 8:12.48 in Morocco, finishing fifth.
Key players for Indian women's events
Javelin thrower Annu Rani cleared 63.82m in May, which is the eighth-best among women. Aishwarya Mishra clocked 51.18 seconds to cover the 400m race at the Federation Cup. It's the third-fastest time by an Indian. Meanwhile, Priyanka Goswami is the first Indian woman to qualify for race walking in World Championships. She met the entry-level standards at the Indian race walking championships in 2021.
India's performance at World Athletics Championships
Indian athletes have qualified for the Athletics Championships since 1983. However, India have managed just one medal in this interval which dates back to 2003. Long jumper Anju Bobby George captured bronze in Paris, having cleared 6.70m. Meanwhile, India finished fourth in 2005, seventh in 2011, 2013, and 2019, and eighth in 2011, 2015, and 2019.
2022 World Athletics Championships: Where to watch?
Indian viewers can watch the 2022 World Athletics Championships live on Sony Ten 1 and Sony Ten 2 channels. For live streaming, one can tune into the Sony LIV app.
