‘Injured’ Aldrin fails to make Worlds cut
NEW DELHI: The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) on Thursday announced the team for next month’s world championships in Eugene, but it was a particular non-selection that hogged the limelight.
Jeswin Aldrin, who holds the record for the longest jump by an Indian—a wind-aided leap of 8.37m at this year’s Federation Cup—was not picked in the 22-member squad.
“Jeswin’s performances have shown a consistent dip over the past few meets. The selection committee in its wisdom has decided not to include him in the squad,” AFI president Adille Sumariwalla said while announcing the team.
National record holder Murali Sreeshankar and Muhammed Anees Yahiya will represent India in the men’s long jump.
The world championships allow a maximum of three athletes in each category. The qualifying mark for men’s long jump was set at 8.22m, and Aldrin breached the mark twice (8.37m and 8.26m) at the Federation Cup in April.
In May, Aldrin went to Europe on his maiden international exposure trip and failed to hit the 8m mark even once. It raised questions about his form and fitness.
“We heard he may have twisted his ankle there,” chief coach Radhakrishnan Nair said. “However, we have not seen any medical or injury report as he doesn’t train with us.
“The main issue is with his recent form. How can we select someone who couldn’t even finish inside the top three?” asked Nair, referring to Aldrin’s below-par performance at the Inter-state meet in Chennai earlier this month. Aldrin, who has already missed the bus for this year’s Commonwealth Games on form, did not respond to calls or messages.
However, AFI’S injury theory has been debunked. “Jeswin has been completely injury-free this season. He didn’t do well in Europe because he barely got any time to acclimatise.
“Remember, it was his first foreign tour and the body takes time to get used to changes in climate and diet,” a person close to Aldrin said. “His training is going very well. There’s no truth in the injury explanation.”
Aldrin, meanwhile, was in the national capital on Thursday as had his visa appointment for the world championships.
On being asked why the athlete was asked to appear for a visa interview when he was not being selected, Nair said, “How do I know? The selection committee met only this evening and the team was announced.” Squad: Men’s Avinash Sable (3000m Steeplechase), MP Jabir (400m Hurdles), M Sreeshankar and Muhammed Anees Yahiya (Long Jump), Abdulla Aboobacker, Praveen Chithravel and Eldhose Paul (Triple Jump), Tajinderpal Singh Toor (Shot Put), Neeraj Chopra and Rohit Yadav (Javelin Throw), Sandeep Kumar (20km Race Walking), Amoj Jacob*, Noah Nirmal Tom, Muhammed Ajmal, Naganathan Pandi, Rajesh Ramesh and Muhammed Anas Yahiya (4x400m).
Women’s: S Dhanalakhsmi (200m), Aishwarya Kailash Mishra (400m), Parul Chaudhary (3000m Steeplechase), Annu Rani (Javelin Throw) and Priyanka Goswami (20km Walk)