India unveil CWG 2026 athletics squad; Neeraj Chopra’s choice comes with a twist

India’s Neeraj Chopra (PTI Photo) The Indian athletics team for the 2026 Commonwealth Games has been finalized and the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has named a 32-member contingent that combines established international stars with several emerging talents across athletics events.The team, announced on Sunday, consists of 22 male and 10 female athletes, filling the entire quota allotted to India for the Glasgow Games. Olympic and world champion Neeraj Chopra is among the biggest names on the list, although his participation is conditional on meeting selection requirements before the competition.The Indian men’s team is characterized by considerable strength in the jumping and throwing events. Athletes like M. Sreeshankar, Tejaswin Shankar, Tajinderpal Singh Toor, Praveen Chithravel and Rohit Yadav have all secured places in the team, while Gurindervir Singh, Animesh Kujur and Gulveer Singh will lead the national challenge in the sprint and distance events on the track.The women’s contingent will rely heavily on experienced performers including Parul Chaudhary in the endurance events. In the field events, Manpreet Kaur, Seema and Nidhi Rani earned selection in the throwing events, while Ravina and Priyanka will represent India in the 10,000m walk.AFI also announced a dedicated pool for the 4x400m medley relay consisting of Vishal TK, Rajesh Ramesh, Ansa Babu, Rashdeep Kaur and Neeru Pathak.World Athletics vice-president and former AFI president Adille Sumariwalla explained that the final selections strictly followed the federation’s established policy, including consideration of athletes who competed abroad after obtaining the federation’s prior approval.“Today we selected the team. As you know we have a quota of 32 athletes. We selected 22 men and 10 women to fill the quota. As we mentioned before, our selection was in accordance with the AAFI policy. We also mentioned in the policy that athletes who applied for special permission, who participated abroad, indicated prior permission, their virtual media interaction on Sumariwall was taken into account.”One of the main points of discussion after the announcement was the conditional selection of Neeraj Chopra and triple jumper Selva Prabhu. Both athletes have asked that upcoming performances be taken into account before their participation in Glasgow is formally confirmed.According to Sumariwalla, the federation agreed to evaluate their results from the scheduled competitions before making a final decision.“We have selected two people who have requested that their performances, one in the upcoming interstate meet, be considered. That is Selva Prabhu, who is also an NCAA athlete, as well as Neeraj, who has requested to participate in several competitions before the Commonwealth Games. If he reaches the qualifying standard, he has also requested to be selected earlier.”Indian Team for CWG 2026:

Do you believe Neeraj Chopra will meet the Commonwealth Games selection criteria?

Men:Gurindervir Singh – 100m, Animesh Kujur – 200m, Gulveer Singh – 5000m, 10000m, Tejas Ashok Shirse – 110m Hurdles, Yashas P – 400m Hurdles, Santhosh Kumar Tamilarasan – 400m High Jump, Kumar Tamilarasan – 400m Hurdles Adarsh Ram J – High Jump, Dev Meena – High Jump Pole Vault, Kuldeep Kumar – Pole Vault, M. Sreeshankar – Long Jump, Lokesh Sathyanathan – Long Jump, Praveen Chithravel – Triple Jump, Selva Prabhu* – Triple Jump, Samardeep Singh Gill – Shot Put, Ro Tajinderpal – Nevel Chointpra, Throw, Ro Tajinderpal – Nevel Chointpra, Throw Yadav – Javelin, Yash Vir Singh – Javelin, Tejaswin Shankar – Decathlon, High JumpWomenParul Chaudhary – 3000m Steeplechase, 5000m, Pooja – High Jump, Manpreet Kaur – Shot Put, Seema – Discus Throw, Nidhi Rani – Discus Throw, Ravina – 10,000m Race Walk, Priyanka – 10,000m Race WalkMixed relay pool (4x400m Medley Relay)- Vishal TK, Rajesh Ramesh, Ansa Babu, Rashdeep Kaur, Neeru PathakThe selection of Neeraj Chopra and Selva Prabhu remains provisional and will depend on their performances in the competitions scheduled before the Commonwealth Games.