Prems 8.12m jump gone with the wind

Irfan KT,Gurmeet Singh and Chandan Singh were named for the mens 20km walk as all of them have qualified for Moscow with A standard

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With just hours to go before the Indian team for the World Championships was picked on Saturday,young long jumper Prem Kumar Kumaravel cleared the B Qualifying Standard of 8.10 metres but was left disappointed when his jump of 8.12 metres was deemed as wind-assisted. After winning silver at Asian Championships in Pune earlier this month,Prem Kumar travelled to Chula Vista in the United States in an attempt to meet qualifying standards.

However,a wind 3.1m/s meant that Kumars second attempt of 8.12 metres would not be considered a national record. The Indian national record stands in the name of Amritpal Singh 8.08m since 2004.

Prem Kumar finished second behind American Ronald Taylor 8.19m at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista in California on Friday. The 20-year-old Prem started off with a distance of 7.76m before registering 8.12 in the second round. He produced a jump of only 6.20m in his third attempt and then equalled his personal best of 8.00m. His final two jumps were 7.82 and 7.87m respectively.

Ashwini for Moscow

The Athletics Federation of India named a 15-member squad,which included Ashwini Akkunji,for the World Championships. Akkunji was named in the Indian womens 4x400m relay squad. She had completed a two-year ban for steroid violation earlier this month.

The other members of 4x400m relay relay squad include MR Poovamma,Tintu Luka,Anu Mariam Jose,Nirmala and Anilda Thomas. The first four of the aforementioned athletes had won a gold in Asian Athletics Championships in Pune early this month and had won with a timing that was within the World championships qualifying mark.

Six walkers,in the 20 kilometre and 50 kilometre,were also named by the selection committee of the Athletics Federation of India.

Irfan KT,Gurmeet Singh and Chandan Singh were named for the mens 20km walk as all of them have qualified for Moscow with A standard. Kushbir Kaur has been named for the womens 20km walk. In the mens 50km walk,Basant Bahadur Rana and Sandeep Kumar will represent the country.

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Vikas Gowda mens discus throw,Sudha Singh womens 3000m steeplechase and Renjith Maheswary mens triple jump complete the list of 15.