Indian athletes aim for an improved show at Asian U20 C'ships

The 21st edition of the Asian U20 Athletics Championships will get underway at the Dubai Police Officer's Club on Wednesday.

A 60-member Indian team, selected by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI), will represent the country at the Championships.

31 male and 29 female athletes will look to qualify for the World U20 Athletics Championships to be held in Lima, Peru on August 27-31.

At the last edition of the Asian U20 Championships held in Yecheon, Korea, the Indian contingent won 19 medals, including six gold, seven silver and six bronze to finish third behind Japan and China.

All eyes will be on promising thrower Siddharth Choudhary and middle-distance runner Laxita Sandilea as they look to defend their shot put and 1500m titles in men's and women's disciplines.

Similarly, expectations are soaring on India's relay teams.

N Ramesh, chief junior athletics coach, is optimistic about good shows by Indian athletes.

"Last year the men's 4x100m relay team won bronze while the 4x400m squad claimed silver," the coach said.

"This time we have good chances of winning gold medals in both the relays."

Schedule

The 21st edition of the Asian U20 Athletics Championships will be held from April 24 to 27 in Dubai, UAE.

Indian squads

Men: Abiram Pramod (400, 4x400m relay), Aman Choudhary (4x400m relay), Anurag Singh Kaler (shot put), Bapi Hansda (400m, 4x400m relay), Dev Kumar Meena (pole vault), Dipanshu Sharma (javelin throw), Mrutyam Jayaram Dondapati (200m, 4x400m relay), Gaurav Bhaskar Bhosale (3,000m, 5,000m), Harshit Kumar (hammer throw), Himanshu (10,000m race walk), Hima Teja Vallipi (4x100m relay), Karthikeyan Soundararajan (4x100m relay), Kuldeep Kumar (pole vault), Mahendra Santa (4x100m relay), Mohd Atta Sazid (long jump), Navpreet Singh (4x400m relay), Nikhil Suhas Dhake (4x400m relay), Prateek (hammer throw), Priyanshu (1500m), Rahul Sarnaliya (1500m), Ranvir Ajay Singh (3,000m steeplechase), Ritik (discus throw), Rohan Ghosh (4x100m relay), Rohan Yadav (javelin throw), Sachin (10,000m race walk), Sahil Malik (4x400m relay), Shahnavaz Khan (long jump), Sharuk Khan (3,000m steeplechase), Siddharth Choudhary (shot put), Vikas Kumar Bind (3,000m), Vinod Singh (5,000m).

Women: Aarti (10,000m race walk), Abinaya Rajarajan (4x100m relay), Amanat Kamboj (discus throw), Anushka Yadav (hammer throw), Anushka Dattatray Kumbhar (400m, 4x400m relay), SAI Sangeetha Dodla (400m, 4x400m relay), Ekta Dey (3,000m steeplechase, 5,000m), Jeyavindhiya Jegadish (400m hurdles, 4x400m relay), Kanista Teena Maria Deva Shekhar (4x400m relay), Laxita Vinod Sandilea (800m. 1,500m), Mishthi Kajla (4x400m relay), Nandini (hammer throw), Neole Anna Cornelio (4x100m relay), Nikita Kumari (discus throw), Pavana Nagaraj (long jump, heptathlon), Prachi Ankush Devkar (3,000m), Prathiksha Yamuna Ashok Kumar (long jump), Rishika Awasthi (triple jump), Rujula Amol Bhonsle (4x100m relay), Sabita Toppo (100m hurdles, 4x100m relay), Sakshi Champalal Chavan (4x100m relay), Sandramol Sabu (4x100m relay), Shilpaben Veljibhai Dihora (3,000m), Shreeya Rajesh (400m hurdles), Siya Abhijit Sawant (4x100m relay), Sunita Devi (5,000m), Tanvi Malik (800m), Unnathi Aiyappa Bolland (100m hurdles).