New Delhi: A 19-member India Youth Athletics Team comprising of the cream of the country’s emerging talent will leave for Bangkok on Monday, to compete in the Youth Olympics Qualifiers – the Asian Area Qualification from May 21-22, 2014. The Youth Olympic Games are scheduled to be held at Nanjing in August later this year.

The 19-member India Youth team, consisting of 14 boys and five girls, and led by chief coach Wazir Singh, are hoping to live up to expectation. In the previous Youth Olympics at Singapore four years ago, the Indian team won two silver medal through 400 m hurdler Durgesh Kumar Pal and discus thrower Arjun Kumar.

While the current team is charged up after their week-long camp, chief coach Wazir Singh is confident that all the team members will try to better their personal bests which should ensure them an impressive haul of medals.

Commenting on the Indian team’s prospects in the Asian qualification, Wazir Singh said, “All the members in the team are confident about their chances. Our walkers, including KT Neena in the girls section who set a new National record at the National Youth championship at Goa in April, and Naveen in the boys, appear quite strong in their respective fields.” He added there are five quotas for Asia in the boys’ 4X400 metres hurdles, which should give ample chance for India’s Aftab Alam to qualify for the Youth Olympics.

“Shot putter Nishan Singh is capable of throwing between 18-19 metres which should also put him into the reckoning, while Pradeep Kumar in the hammer throw has done 67.63 metres which should ensure his qualification,” added Wazir Singh.

The selection of the India Youth Team was based on the performance of the athletes in the National Youth Athletics Championships held at Goa in April. Hurdler Maymon Poulose from Kerala who had eclipsed the National Youth record, javelin thrower Pushpa Jakhar (Haryana), who improved the meet mark in Goa, besides metric miler Ajay Kumar Saroj (Assam), steeplechaser Harbax Singh (Uttar Pradesh) made it to the national team for the Bangkok meet.

TEAM:

BOYS: Chandan Baurai (West Bengal, 400m), Arshdeep Singh (Punjab, 800m), Ajay Kumar Saroj (Assam, 1500m), Kisan Tadvi (Maharashtra, 3000m), Maymon Poulose (Kerala, 110m hurdles), Aftab Alam (Maharashtra, 400m hurdles), Harbax Singh (Uttar Pradesh, 2000m steeplechase), Naveen (Delhi, 10000m race walk), Sahil Mahabali (Haryana, Long jump), Sanal Scaria (Kerala, High jump), Nishan Singh (Punjab, Shot put), S. Mithravarun (Tamil Nadu, Discus throw), Pradeep Kumar (Rajasthan, Hammer throw) and Neeraj Chopra (Haryana, Javelin throw)

GIRLS: K T Neena (Kerala, 5000m race walk), Rochelle Maria Macfarlane (Tamil Nadu, Triple jump), Libia Shaji (Kerala, High jump), Priyanka (Haryana, Discus throw) and Pushpa Jakhar (Haryana, Javelin throw)
Chief Coach: Wazir Singh