Hima Das named in World Championships team as relay runner
New Delhi: World junior champion Hima Das was on Monday named as 4x400m relay runner in India's 25-member squad for the World Athletics Championships to be held in Doha from September 27.
The number of athletes announced after a meeting of AFI selection committee will, however, increase after the international body (IAAF) gives confirmation of the likes of World University 100m champion Dutee Chand, who did not meet the qualification mark but is within the required number of competitors for the event.
Hima could not qualify for her pet event 400m but she has been named to run in the women's 4x400m relay and the mixed 4x400m relay races. The AFI is even hoping that the mixed 4x400m relay team can come in the medal bracket or at least close to it.
The name of star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, who is undergoing rehabilitation after an elbow surgery, was also discussed but was not named in the team.
"The selectors decided to discuss the case of javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, who is undergoing rehabilitation programme after an elbow surgery at a later stage," a press release from the AFI said.
Sources in the AFI, however, said that Neeraj, who has qualified for the World Championships before his surgery, is more or less ruled out of the marquee event.
"Neeraj is unlikely to make it to Doha Worlds as he is undergoing rehabilitation. We think it is better for Neeraj to recover properly as we see him as a bright prospect for the Tokyo Olympics," the source told PTI.
"The selection committee also approved the names of sprinters Dutee Chand (100m women), Archana Suseentran (200m women) and high jumper Tejaswin Shankar subject to invitation from the IAAF.
"The committee also decided to conduct confirmatory trial for quarter miler Anjali Devi for selection in the team in individual women's 400m. The trial will be conducted on September 21st at the NIS Patiala," the AFI release added.
An AFI official said that Tejaswin will be asked to come to India and undergo a trial if he wants to take part in the World Championships.
"If the IAAF sends an invite for Tejaswin, we will ask him to at least jump 2.25m if not the World Championships qualification standard of 2.30m," the official said.
The personal best for Tejaswin is 2.29m, which is also the national record.
The selection committee meeting, chaired by Olympian Gurbachan Singh Randhawa, was attended by AFI President Adille Sumariwalla, chief coach Bahadur Singh, Bahadur Singh Saggu, Krishna Poonia, Praveen Jolly, Uday Prabhu, Paramjit Singh.
Former chief coach JS Saini and current deputy chief coach Radhakrishnan Nair were special invitees. The AFI said that the 4x400m relay teams will perform better than they did in the World Relays in Yokohama in May last.
"We have invested a lot of time in the 400m runners, getting them to train under renowned coach Galina Bukharina. We believe that the squad has been well prepared to deliver the best results on the world stage," AFI President Adille Sumariwalla said.
The team:
Men: Jabir MP (400m Hurdles), Jinson Johnson (1500m), Avinash Sable (3000m Steeplechase), KT Irfan and Devender Singh (20km Race Walk), Gopi T (Marathon), Sreeshankar M (Long Jump), Tajinder Pal Singh Toor (Shot Put), Shivpal Singh (Javelin Throw), Muhammed Anas, Nirmal Noah Tom, Alex Antony, Amoj Jacob, KS Jeevan, Dharun Ayyasamy and Harsh Kumar (4x400m Men's & Mixed Relay).
Women: PU Chitra (1500m), Annu Rani (Javelin Throw), Hima Das, Vismaya VK, Poovamma MR, Jisna Mathew, Revathi V, Subha Venkatsan, Vithya R (4x400m Women & Mixed Relay).
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Assam polls: Cong announces first list of 42 candidates, Gaurav to contest from Jorhat
Guwahati (PTI): The opposition Congress on Tuesday took the lead in announcing its first list of 42 candidates for the upcoming assembly elections in Assam, with it comprising both sitting MLAs and former ministers, and also new faces, including sons of three prominent politicians.
The party's chief ministerial candidate and state president Gaurav Gogoi will contest from the prestigious Jorhat assembly constituency, currently held by BJP's Hitendra Nath Goswami.
The Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha will make his first electoral foray for the assembly.
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Gogoi is currently the party MP from the Jorhat parliamentary constituency and previously represented Kaliabor twice before it was reconstituted during the delimitation exercise in the state.
The leader of the opposition in the state assembly, Debabrata Saikia, will contest from the family stronghold of Nazira, which he has represented since 2016. His father, former chief minister Hiteswar Saikia, and his mother, Hemoprava Saikia, previously represented the constituency.
Three sitting MLAs -- Nandita Das from Hajo-Sualkuchi, Diganta Barman from Barkhetry and Nurul Huda from Rupohihat -- have also been included in the list.
Das, a two-time MLA, had earlier contested from Boko but following the delimitation exercise in the state, she has been shifted to Hajo-Sualkuchi while Barman and Huda will contest from the same seats they represented in the current assembly.
Former minister and state Congress president Ripun Bora will contest from Barchalla while another former minister, Ajit Singh, will contest from Udharbond constituency in Barak Valley.
Former minister and Deputy Speaker Pranati Phukan, a four-time MLA till 2016, will contest from Naharkatia in Upper Assam.
Tanzil Hussain, son of Dhubri MP Rakibul Hussain, will contest from Samaguri where he had lost to BJP's Diplu Ranjan Sarmah in the 2024 by-elections which was necessitated following the election of the senior Hussain to Lok Sabha.
Prateek Bordoloi, son of Nagaon MP Prodyut Bordoloi, will contest the Margherita seat which was represented by his father thrice since 2001.
Former five-time MP and prominent tea tribe leader Paban Singh Ghatowar's son Pranjal Ghatowar will contest from the Chabua-Lahowal seat.
Assam Pradesh Mahila Congress president Mira Borthakur, who had unsuccessfully contested the last parliamentary polls from Gauhati, has been given the ticket for the prestigious Dispur constituency.
Former BJP MLA Ashok Sarma, who was denied ticket by the ruling party in 2021 and went on to join the Congress in 2024, will contest from his previous Nalbari seat.
Another former BJP MLA and Deputy Speaker Aminul Haque Laskar, who joined the Congress in 2024, will contest from Sonai constituency in Barak Valley.
Former AGP MLA Satyabrat Kalita, who joined the Congress in September 2025, will contest from Kamalpur seat.
Other prominent faces in the list include former Congress MLAs Durga Bhumij from Doomdooma, Binanda Kumar Saikia from Sipahjhar and Bubul Das from Jagiroad (SC) constituency.
The Congress is a leading part of the unified opposition alliance, 'Asom Sonmilito Morcha', formed to challenge the ruling BJP, and has entered into seat-sharing arrangements with the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) and the Left, but is yet to finalise it with Raijor Dal.
Presently, the ruling BJP's strength in the 126-member assembly is 64, while its allies AGP has nine MLAs, UPPL has seven and BPF has three members.
In the opposition camp, the Congress has 26 MLAs, AIUDF has 15 members and CPI(M) has one MLA. There is an Independent legislator as well.
