On Wednesday (August 23), the fifth day of the World Athletics Championships 2023 taking place at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest, Hungary, will see the participation of three Indian athletes in the qualifying events.
Annu Rani is set to compete in the qualification round of the women’s javelin throw, while Parul Chaudhary will be taking part in the heats of the Women’s 3000m Steeplechase. Meanwhile, the Indian pair comprising of Murali Sreeshankar and Jeswin Aldrin will be aiming to secure their spots in the men’s long jump finals.
During the previous day’s events, national record holder in the 100m hurdles, Jyothi Yarraji, unfortunately did not qualify for the semifinals as she finished seventh in her heat. Yarraji’s performance yielded a time of 13.05 seconds, placing her at the 29th position overall.
The performance of Indian athletes in the championship has been underwhelming thus far. On the inaugural day, Avinash Sable, the national record holder in the men’s 3000m steeplechase, faced disappointment by not advancing to the final round after securing seventh place in his heat.
In the men’s 20km race walk final, three Indian participants found themselves at the lower end of the results. Additionally, young athlete Shaili Singh was unable to make it to the women’s long jump final.
While Ajay Kumar Saroj managed to achieve a personal best time of 3 minutes and 38.24 seconds in the men’s 1500m heats, it fell short of securing a place in the semifinals. Similarly, in the men’s triple jump, Praveen Chithravel, Eldhose Paul, and Abdulla Aboobacker were unable to progress to the final round.
On the subsequent day, Sunday, the 400m hurdles heat race and the high jump qualification round saw Santhosh Kumar Tamilarasan and Sarvesh Anil Kushare exit the competition respectively.
