CWG: AFI not to send men’s relay team

After keeping everybody guessing for weeks, the Athletics Federation of India has decided not to send its men’s 4x100m relay squad for the Commonwealth Games which begins in Glasgow later this month.

“The entire men’s 4x100m relay team will not go. We gave the boys another opportunity in Bangalore yesterday (Saturday). They fared badly and two of the relay runners are also injured,” AFI Secretary C.K. Valson told The Hindu on Sunday.

He said that the injured athletes were the country’s best sprinters — inter-State national champion Krishnakumar Rane and runner-up Manikanta Raj.

The sprint relay team, comprising Mohd. Baba, Manikanta Raj, Vikas Gulia and Anirudh Gujjar, had clocked 40.85s in last week’s trials but on Saturday, with Manish taking Manikanta’s place, the side could only post a slower 41.71s.

“Poor timing… if you’re an Indian team, you can’t lose very badly so we have dropped it,” said Valson. The men’s sprint relay quartet had won a surprise bronze at the last Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in 2010, clocking 38.89s. But it had failed to finish the race at last year’s Asian Championship in Pune.

A few days after last month’s inter-State championship, the AFI had said that it would send the men’s and women’s teams in the relays 4x100 and 4x400 to Glasgow. It selected eight runners in each relay for training.

“But we can send an entry only for six and we sent that but now we have removed the entire men’s sprint relay team,” said Valson.

Meanwhile, men’s 110m hurdler Siddanth Thingalaya has found a place in the team but left out is triple jump’s Asian championship silver medallist Renjith Maheswary who won a bronze at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

“Renjith was given three chances, at the Diamond League in Shanghai (in May, 16.16m), at Lucknow (16.54, he also lost his national record to Punjab’s Arpinder Singh 17.17m there) and at the last week’s trials (16.08). So, that’s why he has been dropped,” said Valson.

The first batch of athletes, mostly from those who were training at the Patiala national camp, will be leaving for Glasgow from New Delhi on Monday.

“A 27-member group, which includes coaches, will be leaving for the Commonwealth Games tomorrow (Monday) morning.

Tintu Luka (and her coach P.T. Usha) and the women’s 4x100m relay team will be leaving on the 19th,” said the AFI Secretary.

He said the full Commonwealth Games athletics team will be officially announced on Monday.