These track and field athletes are on the edge of getting an Olympic medal!
The 2024 Interstate Athletics Championship, held in the last week of June, showed intense competition among Indian athletes aiming to qualify for the Paris Olympics in 2024. However, the finals brought heartbreak for some prominent athletes. World Athletics released a list of those who secured spots through automatic qualification and rankings, but unfortunately, these athletes missed out on making the India squad for the Paris Olympics 2024 in their respective events. Let’s dive into their stories:
A close up of the Eiffel Tower getting ready for the Olympics!
Tejas Shirse, the national record holder in the men’s 100m hurdles, expressed disappointment with his performance at the 63rd National Interstate Athletics Championship in Panchkula, Haryana. Despite winning gold in the 110-metre hurdles with a new meet record of 13.54 seconds, the 22-year-old fell short of the Olympic qualification mark of 13.27 seconds. Tejas had previously set the national record of 13.41 seconds at a Continental Tour event in Finland, surpassing Siddhanth Thingalaya’s previous record of 13.48 seconds. The National Interstate Senior Athletics Championship was Tejas’s final opportunity to qualify for the Paris Olympics 2024. Unfortunately, he finished 57th in the Road to Paris rankings, outside the top 32 required for qualification.
Despite setting a new national record, the Indian mixed 4x400m relay team fell just one second short of qualifying for the Paris Olympics on the final day of the National Inter-State Championships. India had two teams, A and B, in the mixed 400m relay event. Teams from Sri Lanka and the Maldives were invited and sanctioned by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) for world ranking consideration. India's target was to achieve a time of 3:11.87 to surpass Kenya’s 3:11.88 and secure the final 16th spot. However, the India A team, comprising Muhammed Anas, Jyothika Sri Dandi, Muhammed Ajmal, and Kiran Pahal, finished with a time of 3:12.87. While they secured victory and set a new national record, surpassing the previous mark of 3:14.12 set at the Asian Relay in Bangkok in May, it was not enough to earn a spot in the Paris Olympics in 2024.
Qualifying via ranking proved challenging for Indian long jumper Shaili Singh. Alongside Asian Games medalist Ancy Sojan, they needed to surpass the 6.86m mark to secure a spot at the Paris Olympics 2024, and break Anju Bobby George's 6.83m national record set at the 2004 Athens Olympics. After the 2024 Interstate Athletics Championship, Shaili held the 38th ranking while Ancy clinched gold on countback, edging out Shaili with a better second-best jump after both leaped 6.59 m. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough for either to qualify for Paris.
Tejaswin Shankar delivered a standout performance by winning the men’s high jump at the USATF Throws Festival 2024 in Tucson, Arizona, matching his season best with a 2.23 m leap. His personal best and national record are 2.29 m, set in 2018. With the Paris Olympics 2024 qualification mark at 2.33 m, Shankar aims to improve. Meanwhile, Sarvesh Kushare secured his Olympic qualification, ranking 23rd. Shankar, ranked 37th, narrowly missed out, preventing India from having two high jumpers make their Olympic debut. The 25-year-old will continue working to raise the bar.
Murali Sreeshankar, a silver medalist at the Commonwealth and Asian Games in men's long jump, injured his knee early in the season and has withdrawn from the upcoming Paris Olympics 2024. He had secured his spot for the Paris Olympics right after qualification opened by clinching the 2023 Asian Championship silver in Bangkok with a jump of 8.37 metres, surpassing the Olympic entry standard of 8.27 meters. Murali’s withdrawal paved the way for Jeswin Aldrin. Initially, Jeswin Aldrin fell outside the qualification bracket for the Road to Paris rankings, according to World Athletics' first published list. However, with several withdrawals, including Murali Sreeshankar’s, Aldrin has now successfully qualified.
These athletes stand as India’s hope in track and field, an area in which our country has much scope to improve!
