Neeraj Chopra added to CWG 2026 squad provisionally; to compete in next few days
“Neeraj has recovered and he is ready to compete in the next few days. He asked us to add him and we expect him to play a few meets this month,” AFI Selection committee chairman Adille Sumariwalla said in a virtual press conference on Sunday.
India's Neeraj Chopra reacts in the men's javelin throw final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
The Athletics Federation of India has added double Olympics medallist Neeraj Chopra to the Commonwealth Games squad provisionally despite the thrower not starting his season yet.
“Neeraj has recovered and he is ready to compete in the next few days. He asked us to add him and we expect him to play a few meets this month,”AFI Selection committee chairman Adille Sumariwalla said in a virtual press conference on Sunday.
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After the 2025 World Championships last year, Neeraj hasn’t played in any tournament due to a back injury. “His recovery is going fine and he will be competition ready in the next ten days but he will have to qualify by breaching the 82.61m mark,” Adille said.
With Neeraj being added to the squad, India will have three Javelin throwers as of now including Rohit Yadav and Yashvir Singh who met the qualification mark in the Indian Athletics Series in Ludhiana yesterday.
Apart from Neeraj, recently crowned NCAA triple jump champion Selva Prabhu has been added to the squad provisionally. He will have to come and perform at the Inter State Championships next month.
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Selva jumped 16.92m on Friday at the NCAA Outdoor championships to clinch the title.
“Selva has said that he will come and perform at the Inter State. He will have to jump close to the qualifying mark here and show us his form,” said Adille.
Due to inconsistency of dope control in the NCAA meets, AFI doesn’t consider the performances of NCAA meets. “Selva has sent us his dope test results and we have given him the leeway on the basis of his performance,” Adille added further.
Indian Athletics squad for Commonwealth Games 2026:
India's Neeraj Chopra reacts in the men's javelin throw final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis) 
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