AFI announces 56-member Indian Athletics Team for 2014 Asian Games

New Delhi: The Athletics Federation of India announced today a 56-member Indian Athletics Team, including 30 women athletes, for the 2014 Asian Games to be held in Incheon next month.

Earlier in the day, the selection committee of the AFI comprising of eminent Olympians GS Randhawa, Shiny Wilson, Mercy Kuttan, former National chief coach JS Saini, current National chief coach Bahadur Singh, National deputy chief coach Radhakrishnan Nair and others met to discuss the performance of the athletes at the recently-concluded Federation Cup National Athletics Championships which was the selection trial to select the Indian team for the Asian Games.

The selection committee took into consideration a slew of factors, such as the dismal performance of some of the athletes at the Commonwealth Games 2014, the current form of some of the leading athletes and the performance at the Federation Cup before finalising the team. The selection committee also decided that triple jumper Renjith Maheshwary, jumper Mayookha Johny, shot putter Omprakash Singh Karhana and all the three relay teams will undergo a final trial at NS NIS Patiala on September 15. They will be selected only if they achieve a medal-winning level performance in the trial.

AFI President Adille J Sumariwalla said, “We have selected only those athletes who seem to be our best medal hopes in the collective wisdom of the members of the selection committee. Those athletes who did not live up to expectations at the Commonwealth Games 2014 will have to further prove themselves and cannot take their position in the team for guarantee.”

The team will leave in several batches as per the schedule requested by the respective coaches and till their departure they will continue to train at NS NIS Patiala. The AFI will continue to monitor the performance of the athletes at the National camp.