The Paris Olympics are starting on July 26 and India is sending the most athletes to the tournament history. India’s long jumper Jesswin Aldrin and 5000m runner Ankita Dhyani have qualified for the Paris Olympics. These two players have qualified for the Paris Olympics through a world ranking quota. So now the number of members of the Indian athletics team has increased to 30.
Long jump national record holders Aldrin and Ankita are named in the latest list published by World Athletics. National federations informed the international body about their athletes who did not compete in Paris for various reasons. Such is the example of India’s top long jumper Murali Sreesankar. Despite clearing the qualifying standard of 8.27m. He withdrew from the event due to injury.
Aldrin and Ankita dream big for the Olympics
Aldrin is ranked 31st on the list, while 32 athletes will compete in the men’s long jump at the Olympics. Ankita is ranked 42nd which is the last position. A senior official of the Athletics Federation of India told news agency PTI that both will be included in the Indian team. He said, “yes, both of them have been included in the world rankings and will be included in the Indian team for the Paris Olympics.”
Indian Athletics chief coach Radhakrishnan Nair, after announcing the 28-member squad, had said that the national federation’s selection committee has decided that whoever qualifies for the Paris Games later will be included in the squad. This a dream come true for both the athletes to represent their nation at the highest stage of a multinational event.
