Asian Games 2026: Despite Neeraj Chopra’s absence, Indian athletics could turn into a great show

Neeraj Chopra and Gulveer Singh Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, who led India 1-2 in the men’s event at the last Asian Games in Hangzhou, is out with an injury. Two-time defending men’s shot put champion Tajinderpal Singh is not at his best and javelin gold medalist Annu Rani was not cut. Will it be a tough outing for Indian athletes then?The answer might surprise many as the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has nurtured a new breed of talented athletes capable of repeating or even bettering the performance of the last year’s games held in China.

Gulveer, the new star

The focus will be on Gulveer Singh, who has now established himself and is recognized as one of the best long-distance runners India has produced. The service runner, who trains in the USA, settled for a bronze medal at the last Games, but this time he will start as a gold medal contender. Gulveer’s time of 27 minutes, 24.28 St March, is the 12th fastest in the world this season.

Usha’s record in danger

In the women’s section, athletics fans will fight for the Indian double in the long jump and 400m hurdles. Ancy Sojan will be the flag bearer in the long jump. Her big jump of 6.88m at the National Interstate Athletics meet erased Anju Bobby George’s long-standing mark of 6.83m set in 1994. Shaili Singh is expected to be a big challenger for Ancy. It’s been Ancy so far, but Shaili is capable of pulling off an upset win.The oldest record in Indian athletics, PT Usha’s 55.42 in the women’s 400m hurdles, will again be under threat from last year’s bronze medalists Vithya Ramraj and Anu Raghavan, who were upgraded from 4th to 3rd at the 2010 Games, ready for the main grandstand. Both achieved their best result in June in Bhubaneswar; Vithya won the race in 56.07s and Anu finished second in 56.54s.

Sreeshankar, Kushare and Tejaswin

The trio of Murali Sreeshankar (8.38m, Asia No.1, Men’s Long Jump), Sarvesh Anil Kushare (2.31m Asia No.1, Men’s High Jump) and Tejaswin Shankar (8057 points, Asia No.2, Decathlon) will all be eyeing the top step of the podium.With impressive performances this season, the trio will look to add the title to their collection. The return of Avinash Sable (defending men’s 3000m steeplechase champion) after missing the Commonwealth Games will be closely watched.Other medal contenders include Sawan Barwal (men’s marathon), Praveen Chitravel (men’s triple jump), Rohit Yadav (men’s javelin), Toor (men’s shot put), Parul Chaudhary (women’s 5000m) and Jyothi Yarraji (women’s 100m hurdles relay, men’s 4xm hurdles 00 4x400m relay and mixed relay at 4x400m.