At 2020 Tokyo Olympics,26 Indians qualified for the Athletics competition. So far, 18 Indian athletes have qualified for Paris. The Indian contingent is hopeful that a dozen more athletes will qualify for the mega event. A few Indian men athletes are well within the world rankings and can qualify, while some are on the borderline.
1) Tejaswin Shankar and Sarvesh Kushare (High Jump)
India’s Tejaswin Shankar, who won the silver medal at 2022 Hangzhou Asian games in the Decathlon, might not qualify for the same event at Paris. Tejaswin is currently placed 51st in Decathlon in the world rankings. Only 24 athletes can qualify for the Decathlon event in Paris.
However, Tejaswin can qualify for Paris in the High Jump, where he is currently ranked 45th. So far, only nine athletes have managed to win the quota by direct qualification and the remaining (maximum 32 athletes) will be decided by the world rankings. To directly qualify for the Olympics, Tejaswin needs to make jump of 2.33m before June 30, 2024. While 2.33m is a daunting task, he can qualify for Paris with an average of performance scores. Tejaswin’s recent best performance was 2.23m at USATF Throws festival, an athletics event in Tucson, Arizona, USA. It was “B” category event where he finished first. His result of 2.23m gave him 1117 points while first position added an extra 100 points. Tejaswin achieved a total of 1217 points from the event. In order to qualify for the Paris, he needs to participate in atleast “B” category events or above where he needs to jump higher and score 1200 points consistently. If Tejaswin achieves a score of 1200 points in future events, he will be well placed in the top 32 of world rankings and qualify for Paris 2024.
Sarvesh Kushare, who represented India at the World Championships in Budapest in 2023, is currently ranked 32ndon the Road to Paris. His average of performance scores has been 1175. While Sarvesh is currently participating in events in the USA, his recent best was 2.23m at an event in Walnut, California. He finished first, but since it was “E” category, it fetched only 25 points. Although, Sarvesh is placed in the top 32, he is on the borderline which can affect his ranking. Like Tejaswin, Sarvesh also needs to consistently target 1200 points in order to be in a safe position to qualify for Paris 2024.
2) Tajinderpalsingh Toor (Shot put)
About a week ago, Tajinderpal Singh Toor wasn’t even featured in the world rankings. However, his throw of 20.38m at the Federation Cup in Bhubaneshwar and first position improved his world ranking significantly. Toor gained a vital 1159 points from the FederationCup and is now placed at 21 in the world rankings. The two-time AsianGames gold medallist is still behind the direct qualification mark of 21.5m.However, with a few more events scheduled before June 30, Toor is likely to qualify for Paris with the current world ranking.
3) DP Manu (Javelin throw)
At the 2023 World Championship final in Budapest, DP Manu narrowly missed out on direct qualification for Paris 2024. Manu’s throw of 84.14m came a bit short of the direct qualification standard of 85.50. However, Manu is placed14th in the world and likely to be third Indian to qualify in men’s javelin throw at Paris 2024 when the final list is announced on July 7, 2024.Manu can also qualify directly for Paris if he throws more than 85.50m at any event he participates in before June 30, 2024.
4) The Triple Jumpers (Abdulla Abubacker, Praveen Chithravel, Eldhose Paul)
Abdulla Abubacker(19) and Praveen Chithravel(22) are well placed in the top 32 of the world triple jump rankings. Abdulla, the 2022 Commonwealth Games silver medallist, may not have directly qualified for Paris 2024, but his strategy of participating in major events has benefited his average points. Since July 1, 2023, Abdulla has participatedin major events like the World Championships,Diamond leagues, Asian Games and Asian Athletics Championships. Apart from the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok, Abdulla didn’t finish on the podiumat the other major events. However, his 15th position in the 2023 World Athletics Championships has given him 1199 points. His 8th position rank at the Diamond Leagueevent in Xiamen, China gave him 1197 points.
On the other hand, Praveen Chitravel, who holds the national record, is placed 22nd in the world ranking. He has participated in the Federation Cup and Indian Grand Prixwhere he finished first, but couldn’t achieve more points as the events were F category.
2022 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Eldhose Paul is ranked 46th in the world rankings on the Road to Paris. He is well behind the top 32 athletes that will make the cut. Eldhose’s performances haven’t been impressive and his best jump since July 1, 2023 was 16.59m. His personal best of 17.03m came in the CWG final.
5) Jeswin Aldrin (Long Jump)
After Murali Sreeshankar’s injury, Jeswin Aldrin seems to be lone Indian that can qualify in long jump for Paris 2024.Jeswin is ranked 27th in the world, and came closer to direct qualification (8.27m) last year when he jumped 8.22m attheCITIUS meeting in Bern, Switzerland .Jeswin is not in the safe zone and the national record holder (8.42m)needs to jump more than 8m to gain valuable points to be well placed in the world rankings.
Final list of all the athletes that qualify for the Olympics by world ranking will be declared on July 7
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