The national record holder in the men’s 20 km walk event, KT Irfan, is among the 15-member squad cleared by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) for Moscow world athletics championships beginning August 10.
Of the 15, six have achieved qualification mark in walking, hinting that the event has improved overall.
Hoping to improve
Irfan, who has set national record of 1 hour 20 minutes 21 seconds in the 20-kilometre walk, finishing overall 10th during the London Games last year, is hoping to improve. “Irfan’s training is going on expected lines,” coach Gurdev Singh told Hindustan Times from Bangalore.
Apart from 20km, two have been picked for 50km walk including Basant Bahadur Rana, who holds the national record of 3::56:48s set during the 2010 Olympic Games in London.
{{/usCountry}}Apart from 20km, two have been picked for 50km walk including Basant Bahadur Rana, who holds the national record of 3::56:48s set during the 2010 Olympic Games in London.
{{/usCountry}}Vikas Gowda (discus) and Renjith Maheswary (triple jump) are the other two male athletes in the squad.
Ashwini Akkunji found a place in the six-member women’s 4x400m team.
The AFI, however, is yet to announce the names of coaches for the championships. The AFI tradition is to pick its favourites for foreign assignments and in all probability, this Moscow tour wouldn’t be an exception.