India names 59-member team for Asian Athletics C'ships in Korea; Neeraj Chopra to skip
New Delhi, Apr 25 (PTI): India on Friday named a 59-member team for the upcoming Asian Athletics Championship in South Korea with star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra expectedly skipping the event while almost all those who had excelled in the just-concluded Federation Cup in Kochi making the cut.
Double Olympic medallist Chopra missing the event was on expected lines as his focus this season will be the Diamond League Meetings and the World Championships in September, besides the NC Classic which he is hosting in Bengaluru on May 24.
He has not competed in the continental showpiece since the 2017 edition in Bhubaneswar where he won a gold. Since then, his focus has remained on the DL Meetings, World Championships and Olympics.
National record holder shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor, who had won gold in the last edition of the continental championships, was omitted from the squad after he finished a disappointing second in the Federation Cup.
Pole vaulter Dev Kumar Meena also missed the bus despite re-writing his own national record as his effort was below the Asian Championships qualification mark set by the Athletics Federation of India.
But others such as Avinash Sable (men's 3000m steeplechase), Parul Chaudhary (women's 3000m steeplechase) and Gulveer Singh (5000m and 10000m) have been included in the squad even though they did not take part in the Federation Cup, as they were training and competing abroad after taking AFI’s permission.
Also featuring in the squad for the May 27-31 Asian Championships in Gumi are sprinter Animesh Kujur, who set a new 200m national record, and triple jumper Praveen Chitravel, who equalled his own NR during the Federation Cup.
National record holder in women's javelin throw, Annu Rani would consider herself to be lucky to make it to the squad as she has been struggling for some time to reach the 60m mark.
The 32-year-old did a 60.68m in May 2024 and since then she has been struggling. This year, she produced a 58.82m effort at the Indian Open Throws Competition in Mumbai in March before winning gold with a 56.66m throw -- far below the Asian Championships qualifying distance of 58m -- on Thursday in the Federation Cup.
The Federation Cup (April 21-24) was the last selection event for the Asian Championships and the AFI had made it mandatory for all the athletes -- except who got exemptions -- to compete in it if they want to be picked for the continental championships.
In the last edition in Bangkok, India had finished third behind Japan and China with 27 medals -- 6 gold, 12 silver and 9 bronze.
India’s squad:
Men: Animesh Kujur (200m), Anu Kumar and Krishan Kumar (800m), Yoonus Shah (1500m), Avinash Sable (3000m steeplechase), Gulveer Singh and Abhishek Pal (5000m), Gulveer Singh and Sawan Barwal (10,000m), Praveen Chithravel and Abudlla Aboobacker (triple jump), Sarvesh Kushare (high jump), Sachin Yadav and Yasvir Singh (javelin throw), Samardeep Singh (shot put), Tejaswin Shankar (decathlon), Servin Sebastian and Amit (20km race walk).
4x100m relay: Pranav Pramod Gurav, Animesh Kujur, Manikanta Hoblidar, Amlan Borgohain, Tamilarasu S, Ragul Kumar G, Gurvindervir Singh.
4x400m relay: Vishal TK, Jay Kumar, Manu TS, Rince Joseph, Tushar Manna, Santhosh Kumar, Dharamveer Choudhary, Mohit Kumar.
Women: Nithya Gandhe (200m), Rupal Chaudhary and Vithya Ramraj (400m), Twinkle Chaudhary and Pooja (800m), Lili Das and Pooja (1500m), Parul Chaudhary and Ankita (3000m steeplechase), Sanjivani Jadav and Parul Chaudhary (5000m), Sanjivani Jadhav and Seema (10,000m), Jyothi Yarraji (100m hurdles), R Vithya Ramraj and Anu R (400m), Shaili Singh and Ancy Sojan (long jump), Pooja (high jump), Seema (discus throw), Annu Rani (javelin throw), Agsara Nandini (heptathlon).
4x100m relay: Nithya Gandhe, Abinaya Rajarajan, Sneha SS, Srabani Nanda, Daneshwari AT, V Sudheeksha.
4x400m relay: Rupal Chaudhary, Sneha K, Subha Venkatesan, Jisna Mathew, Kunja Rajitha, Sarndramol Sabu.
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Markets rebound sharply on ceasefire between India, Pakistan: Sensex, Nifty surge over 3 pc
New Delhi, May 12 (PTI): Dalal Street investors became richer by Rs 16.15 lakh crore on Monday as markets skyrocketing nearly 4 per cent, after India and Pakistan announced reaching an understanding to stop all firings and military actions on land, air and sea.
Also, a trade agreement between the US and China added to the markets' optimism.
After starting the trade on an optimistic note, the 30-share BSE benchmark gauge Sensex further jumped 2,975.43 points or 3.74 per cent to settle at 82,429.90. During the day, it rallied 3,041.5 points or 3.82 per cent to a high of 82,495.97.
The market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms jumped by Rs 16,15,275.19 crore to Rs 4,32,56,125.65 crore (USD 5.05 trillion) in a single day.
"Confluence of positive geopolitical and economic developments — the ceasefire between India and Pakistan, coupled with a breakthrough trade agreement between the US and China — sparked the strongest daily market rally in recent times," Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Limited, said.
From the Sensex firms, Infosys jumped 7.91 per cent. HCL Tech, Tata Steel, Eternal, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, NTPC and Reliance Industries were the other major gainers.
Sun Pharma and IndusInd Bank were the only laggards from the blue-chip pack.
"Markets staged a sharp rebound on Monday, buoyed by easing geopolitical tensions after the India-Pakistan ceasefire. Benchmark indices posted their strongest single-day performance in over four years," Vikram Kasat, Head - Advisory at PL Capital, said.
The BSE smallcap gauge surged 4.18 per cent and midcap index jumped 3.85 per cent.
"Markets opened the week on a strong footing, rallying nearly 4 per cent, driven by supportive global and domestic cues. The key trigger was the announcement of a ceasefire between India and Pakistan over the weekend, signalling easing geopolitical tensions. Adding to the positive sentiment were encouraging updates on the US-China trade deal, which further boosted investor confidence as the session progressed," Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research at Religare Broking Ltd, said.
All sectoral indices ended higher. IT zoomed 6.75 per cent, BSE Focused IT (6.74 per cent), realty (5.87 per cent), metal (5.24 per cent), teck (5.21 per cent), utilities (5.07 per cent), power (4.82 per cent) and industrials (4.24 per cent).
"Indian equities made spectacular gains on Monday, with the Nifty soaring by a record 917 points to close at 24,925 - a seven-month high. The de-escalation in India-Pakistan tensions over the weekend has significantly helped calm investors' nerves and improve sentiments.
"On the global front, the US announced a headway in the trade negotiations with China, as both countries agreed to drastically roll back tariffs on each other's goods for an initial 90-day period," Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Research, Wealth Management at Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, said.
As many as 3,545 stocks advanced while 576 declined and 133 remained unchanged on the BSE.
