Paris Olympics 2024: Top five track & field athletes who missed out on Paris qualification

Murali Sreeshankar had initially qualified but had to withdraw due to injury.

The 2024 Interstate Athletics Championship was held in the last week of June and featured intense competition among Indian athletes vying for Paris Olympics 2024 qualification.

However, for some prominent athletes, the finals brought heartbreak as World Athletics released the list of those who secured spots through automatic qualification and rankings. These athletes unfortunately missed out on making the India squad for Paris Olympics 2024 in their respective events.

Let’s delve into their stories-

Athletes who missed out on Paris Olympics 2024 qualification

5. Tejas Shirse

Tejas Shirse, the national record holder in the men’s 100m hurdles expressed disappointment with his performance at the 63rd National Interstate Athletics Championship in Panchkula, Haryana.

Despite winning gold in the 110m hurdles with a new meet record of 13.54 secs, the 22-year-old fell short of the Olympic qualification mark of 13.27 secs.

Tejas had set the national record of 13.41 seconds at a Continental Tour event in Finland surpassing Siddhanth Thingalaya’s previous record of 13.48 secs.

The National Interstate Senior Athletics Championship was Tejas’s final opportunity to qualify for the Paris Olympics 2024, but he finished in 57th place in the Road to Paris rankings which was outside the top 32 required for qualification.

Also Read: Top five performers at National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships 2024

4. Indian mixed 4x400m relay team

Despite setting a new national record, the Indian mixed 4x400m relay team fell short of qualifying for the Paris Olympics by just one second on the final day of the National Inter-State Championships.

India had two teams, A and B in the mixed 400m relay event. Teams from Sri Lanka and Maldives were invicted and sanctioned by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) for world ranking consideration.

The target for India was to achieve a time of 3:11.87 to surpass Kenya’s 3:11.88 and claim the final 16th spot. However, the India A team comprising Muhammed Anas, Jyothika Sri Dandi, Muhammed Ajmal and Kiran Pahal finished with a time of 3:12.87 secs.

They secured victory and set a new national record by surpassing the previous mark of 3:14.12 secs set at the Asian Relay in Bangkok in May. But it was not enough for a spot in Paris Olympics 2024.

3. Shaili Singh

Qualifying via ranking appeared challenging for Indian long jumper Shaili Singh in the women’s event. However, alongside Asian Games medalist Ancy Sojan, they had to surpass the 6.86m qualifying mark to secure a spot at Paris Olympics 2024.

Achieving this would also mean surpassing the national record set by Anju Bobby George at 6.83m at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Also Read: Top five longest leaps by Indian women in long jump

Following the 2024 Interstate Athletics Championship, Shaili held the 38th ranking whereas Ancy clinched the gold on countback edging out Shaili with a better second-best jump after both athletes leaped 6.59m. However, it wasn’t enough for either to get on the flight to Paris.

2. Tejaswin Shankar

Tejaswin Shankar delivered a standout performance for his Olympic campaign by clinching victory in the men’s high jump event at the USATF Throws Festival 2024 in Tucson, Arizona where he matched his season best with a leap of 2.23m. His personal best stands at 2.29m which is also the national record set in 2018.

But the Paris Olympics 2024 qualification is set at 2.33m. Shankar will hope to improve his mark next time. The 25-year-old will now work on raising the bar on the field.

Meanwhile, Sarvesh Kushare secured his Olympic qualification in the men’s high jump as he was ranked 23rd on the qualification process. Tejaswin held the 37th position in the rankings and India narrowly missed the opportunity to have two high jumpers make their Olympic debut.

1. Murali Sreeshankar

Murali Sreeshankar, the silver medallist at the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games in the men’s long jump event injured his knee early in the season and has withdrawn his participation in the upcoming Paris Olympics 2024.

He had secured his spot for the Paris Olympics right after the qualifications opened by clinching the 2023 Asian Championship silver in Bangkok with a jump of 8.37 meters and therefore surpassing the Olympic entry standard of 8.27 meters. Murali’s withdrawal paved the way for Jeswin Aldrin.

Jeswin Aldrin initially fell outside the qualification bracket for the Road to Paris rankings as per World Athletics first published list. However, with several withdrawals including Murali Sreeshankar’s, Aldrin has now successfully qualified.

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