Davinder Singh in Indian team for Asian Athletics C’ship

The javelin thrower has not suffered a provisional suspension despite testing positive for marijuana recently.

Davinder Singh is among 95 Indian athletes chosen to participate in the tournament.

Javelin thrower Davinder Singh Kang, who tested positive for marijuana recently, finds a place in the 95-member Indian team for the 22nd Asian Athletics Championships which begin at the Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar on July 6. The team includes 47 women.

Since marijuana (cannabinoids) is a ‘specified substance’ in the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned substances, Davinder did not suffer a provisional suspension and was thus eligible to compete in the Asians.

FITNESS TRIALS

Six athletes – defending Asian discus throw champion Vikas Gowda, sprint hurdler Siddhanth Thingalaya, long jumper Nayana James, triple jumper Joyline Murali Lobo, long jumper Siddharth Mohan Naik and triple jumper U. Karthik – who figure in the list have been asked to attend fitness trials ahead of the championships. Gowda is expected to undergo trials on June 30 and Thingalaya on July 2.

LALITA TO SKIP ASIANS

Steeple chaser Lalita Babar, who got married recently, has decided to skip the Asian and World Championships. She came up with India’s best performance, a 10th place, in the Rio Olympics last year.

The team

Men: 100 & 200m: Amiya Kumar Mallick. 400m: Muhammed Anas, Amoj Jacob & Arokia Rajiv. 800m: Jinson Johnson & Vishambhar Keolkar. 1500m: Ajay Kumar Saroj & Siddhantha Adhikari. 5000m: G Lakshmanan and Murli Kumar Gavit. 10,000m: Lakshmanan, Gopi Thonakal & Kalidas Hirave. 3000m steeple chase: Naveen Kumar & Durga Bahadur Budha. 110m hurdles: Siddhanth Thingalaya & Prem Kumar. 400m hurdles: M.P. Jabir, T. Santhosh Kumar & Durgesh Kumar Pal.

Pole vault: S. Siva. High jump: B. Chethan B & Ajay Kumar. Long jump: Ankit Sharma, S.E. Samsheer & Siddharth Mohan Naik. Triple jump: Arpinder Singh & U. Karthik. Shot put: Tajinder Pal Toor, Jasdeep Singh Dhillon & Omprakash Singh Karhana. Discus throw: Vikas Gowda, Dharamraj Yadav & Kirpal Singh. Hammer throw: Niraj Kumar. Javelin throw: Neeraj Chopa, Davinder Singh Kang & Abhishek Singh. Decathlon: Jagtar Singh & Abhishek Shetty. 4x100m relay: Amiya Kumar Mallick, Jyotishankar Debnath, Anuroop John, V.K. Elakkiya Dasan, Pravin Muthukumaran & Chintha Sudhakar. 4x400m relay: Muhammed Anas, Amoj Jacob, Arokia Rajiv, Sachi Roby, Mohan Kumar & Kunju Muhammed.

Women: 100m and 200m: Dutee Chand & Srabani Nanda. 400m: Nirmala Sheoran, M.R. Poovamma & Jisna Mathew. 800m: Tintu Luka, Archana Adhav & Lili Das. 1500m: Monika Choudhary. 5000m: L Suriya & Sanjivani Jadhav. 10,000m: L. Suriya, Sanjivani Jadhav & Meenu. 3000m steeplechase: Sudha Singh & Parul Chaudhary. 100m hurdles: Nayana James. 400m hurdles: R. Anu, Jauna Murmu & M. Arpitha. Pole vault: K.M. Sangeeta. High jump: Sahana Kumari & Swapna Barman. Long jump: Nayana James, V. Neena & G. Karthika. Triple jump: N.V. Sheena & Joyline Murali Lobo. Shot put: Manpreet Kaur, Ramanpreet Kaur & Anamika Das. Discus throw: Kamalpreeet Kaur Bal, Seema Punia and Himani Singh.

Hammer throw: Sarita R. Singh & Gunjan Singh. Javelin throw: Annu Rani, Poonam Rani Singh & Suman Devi. Heptathlon: Swapna Barman, Purnima Hembram & Liksy Joseph. 4x100m relay: Dutee Chand, Srabani Nanda, Merlin Joseph, Reena George, Ruma Sarkar & Himashree Roy. 4x400m relay: Nirmala Sheoran, M.R. Poovamma, Jisna Mathew, G.K. Vijayakumari, Sarita Ben Gayakwad & Debashree Mazumdar.