Indian athletes for the Asian Championships to be held in Pune from July 3-7 will be selected on June 20 here with medal prospects like Sudha Singh, Krishna Poonia, Tintu Luka and Vikas Gowda expected to make the cut.
With the host country having the luxury to name three participants in each of the 42 events (21 each for men and women), India are set to have maximum number of athletes in the continent's biennial showpiece event.
China, who have ruled Asian athletics scene in the last 15 editions, and Japan, another continental powerhouse who have finished second in last two editions, are expected to send strong squads for the Championship which is being held for second time in India after New Delhi hosted in 1989.
Athletics Federation of India Secretary C K Valson told PTI that India may not field participants in all the events as the selectors headed by Olympian Gurbachan Singh Randhawa will set a minimum standard for taking part in each event.
"The Indian athletes will be named in the AFI selection committee on June 20 and the selectors will set the procedure and the minimum standards. As host country, India can name three athletes in each event," Valson said.
Valson said the top three finishers in the recent National Inter-State Meet in Chennai will be considered but they would not be automatic picks for the Championships.
"The top three in National Inter-State will be considered but they would not get automatic selections. The selectors will set some minimum standards and those athletes who do not reach them would not be picked even if they had finished on podium in National Inter-State," he said.
He also said that ace discus thrower Vikas Gowda and 110m hurdler Siddhanth Thingalaya would be considered despite their non-participation in the National Inter-State Meet.
"The AFI had not said that all the athletes were to take part in National Inter-State to get considered for the Asian Championships. We had asked all the athletes who were training in India to participate to get themselves considered for the Asian event," he said.
