Indian athletics is growing by leaps and bounds. After Neeraj Chopra's historic gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics, India sent its biggest ever contingent to a World Athletics Championships at the eighteenth edition in Eugene, Oregon, United States. (More Sports News)
And on Day 8 of the World Athletics Championships 2022, three Indian athletes qualify for the finals in their respective events, making it an unprecedented five.
Here's a look at the five Indian athletes who made it to the medal rounds
Murli Sreeshankar - Men's long jump
Murali Sreeshankar became the first Indian male long jumper to qualify for the World Athletics Championships finals on the first day of the competitions in Eugene.
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Considered a dark horse, the 23-year-old from India produced a best jump of 8 metres to finish second in Group B of the qualification round and seventh overall. The two other Indians in the fray, Jeswin Aldrin and Muhammed Anees Yahiya failed to make the cut.
In the final on Day 2, however, Murali Sreeshankar could produce a best jump of only 7.96m and finished seventh.
Anju Bobby George was the first Indian to make it to the World Championships long jump finals and the first to win a medal -- a bronze in the 2003 edition in Paris.
Avinash Sable - Men's 3000 metres steeplechase
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On the second day, Avinash Sable ran 8:18.75 to finish finished third in Heat 3, clocking 8:18.75 to qualify for the finals. In the final on Day 4, the 27-year-old clocked 8:31.75 to finish seventh. Sable had also qualified for the 3000m steeplechase final in the 2019 edition.
Annu Rani - Women's javelin throw
On Day 6, Annu Rani finished fifth in the Group B qualification round of women's javelin throw with a 59.60m effort and made it to the finals as eighth best across the two groups. On Saturday (6:50 am IST), she will appear in her second consecutive World Championships finals. She had finished eighth in the finals with a best throw of 61.12m in the last edition in 2019 in Doha. The 29-year-old national record holder has a season's and personal best of 63.82m. Here's how to watch the final live.
Neeraj Chopra - Men's javelin throw
Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra qualified for his maiden World Championships final with a first attempt throw of 88.39m in the Group A qualification round. The 24-year-old Indian is a hot favourite for a medal. Chopra finished second best overall behind defending champion Anderson Peters of Grenada, who topped Group B with his opening round effort of 89.91m.
Rohit Yadav - Men's javelin throw
On a historic day for India, Rohit Yadav also made it to the finals after finishing sixth in the Group B qualification round, and 11th overall, with his first round throw of 80.42m. The 21-year-old had recorded a season's and personal best of 82.54m last month.
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The men's javelin throw final is on Sunday (7:05 am IST).
Eldhose Paul - Men's triple jump
Then it became a Super Friday for Indian athletes with Eldhose Paul creating history. The 25-year-old became the first-ever Indian to qualify for the triple jump final at the World Championships with an effort of 16.68m. He finished sixth in the Group A qualification round and 12th overall. Paul's personal best is 16.99m. The final is scheduled for Sunday (6:50 AM IST)
The two other Indians, Praveen Chithravel and Abdulla Aboobacker failed to make it to the finals. Chitravel finished eighth in Group A and 17th overall while Aboobacker ended at 10th in Group B and 19th overall.
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Who can still make the finals?
On the penultimate day of competition, an Indian quartet will compete in the men's 4×400 metres relay heats. The final is scheduled for the final day (July 24). Muhammed Anas, Amoj Jacob, Naganathan Pandi, Noah Nirmal Tom, Rajesh Ramesh and Muhammed Ajmal make the Indian team.
