Jeswin Aldrin and Ankita Dhyani have secured their spots in the Indian athletics team for the Paris 2024 Olympics, as confirmed by World Athletics on Sunday. Their inclusion raises the total number of Indian athletes participating in track and field events at the upcoming Summer Games to 30.
The qualification period for track and field events for Paris 2024 ended on June 30. Initially, both Aldrin and Dhyani were not within the qualification bracket according to the Road to Paris rankings released by World Athletics last Tuesday. However, due to multiple withdrawals, including that of Indian long jumper Murali Sreeshankar who had to withdraw because of an injury despite meeting the direct entry standard, Aldrin and Dhyani were able to make the cut.
Jeswin Aldrin, the national record holder in long jump, is ranked 31st in men’s long jump, with the top 32 athletes qualifying for the Paris Olympics. Meanwhile, Ankita Dhyani occupies the 42nd rank in the women’s 5000m, which is the cutoff rank for this event. She will join her compatriot Parul Chaudhary, who is ranked 29th and holds the national record in women’s 5000m with a time of 15:10.35, achieved at the Track Festival in California last year.
Ankita Dhyani has a personal best of 15:28.08, achieved at the Track Fest in California earlier this year. She recently won the gold medal at the Inter-State Athletics Championships with a time of 16:10.31. Jeswin Aldrin set the national record in men’s long jump with an 8.42m jump at the Indian Open Jumps Competition in 2023. Although he hasn’t surpassed the 8m mark this season, he achieved a season’s best of 7.99m to win the Federation Cup title and secured a silver medal at the Inter-State Athletics Championships with a 7.75m jump.
The initial list of Indian athletes for the Paris 2024 Olympics included 28 names, prominently featuring reigning Olympic and world champion Neeraj Chopra. The track and field events at the Paris Olympics are scheduled to take place between August 1 and 11, 2024.
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