New Delhi, Aug 26: Middle-distance runner Sunita Rani, recovering from injury, has found a place in the 33-member Indian athletic squad, for the Sydney Olympic Games. With nine officials accompanying the athletes it is the biggest component of the 116- member contingent, followed by 20-member hockey team including four officials.
The squad, which includes 16 women athletes, will mainly be seen in action in the relay events. It is also the biggest ever athletic team to represent the country in the Olympics.
Interestingly, the four-member boxing team will have equal number of officials with it, while the three-member weightlifting team will be accompanied by four officials.
Asked how an injured athlete — Sunita Rani — has been included in the squad, Chef de Mission of the contingent Ashok Mattoo said the Amateur Athletic Federation Of India (AAFI) had recommended her name. The AAFI is hopeful that Sunita would be fully fit by the time athletic events start in the Olympics.
Veteran weightlifter, Kunjarani Devi does not figure in the list approved by the government.
Following is the Indian contingent:
Athletics-Men:
4 x 100 m relay: Anil Kumar P., Rajiv Balakrishnan, C.T. Durai, Anand Menezes, Ajay Raj Singh, Piyush Kumar.
4x 400 m relay: Anil Kumar Rohil, Paramjit Singh, P. Ramachandran, Lijo David, Manoj Lal K.J, Jata Shankar.
Long Jump: Sanjay Kumar Rai.
Discus: Anil Kumar.
Javelin: Jagdish Bishnoi.
Shot Put: Shakti Singh, Bahadur singh.
Women:
4 x 100m relay: Rachita Mistry, Vinita Tripathi, Anuradha Biswal, V. Jayalakshmi, V.Pandeshwar, Saraswati Dey.
4x 400 m: Paramjit Kaur, Jincy Philip, Manjuma Kuriakose, Rosa Kutty, K.M. Beena Mol, Soma Biswas.
1500 m: Sunita Rani.
Discus: Neelam J.Singh
Javelin: Gurmeet Kaur.
Heptathlon: G.C.Pramila, Soma Biswas
Coaches: Bahadur Singh, Harbans Singh, Andriy Shurepov, Yuriy Ogorodnik.
Managers: M. L. Jadam, A.K. Banerjee.
Doctors: R.Kaushal, Yuriy Boyko.
Masseuse: Inna Zveryeva.
Badminton: Pullela Gopi Chand, Aparna Popat.
Coach:Syed Mohd Arif.
Boxing: Soubarn Suresh Singh (48 Kg), Ngangom Dingko Singh (56 Kg), Jitender Kumar (75 Kg) and Gurcharan Singh (81 kg).
Coaches: Blas Jose Iglesias Fernandez, Gurbaksh Singh Sandhu.
Manager: Rajesh Bhandari,
Doctor: Ashok Ahuja.
Hockey: Goal Keepers: Jude Menezes, Deveshish Chauhan,
Defenders: Dilip Kumar Tirkey,Dinesh Lakra,Lajrus Barla.
Mid Fielders: Baljit Singh, Sukhbir Gill, Mohd.Riaz Nabi, Selvaraj Thirumal Valavan, Ramandeep Grewal (Capt).
Forwards: Mukesh Kumar, Dhanraj Pillay, Baljit Singh, Mohd.Sameer Dad, Deepak Thakur Solanki, Gagan Ajit Singh.
Coaches: Vasudevan Bhaskran, Harendra Singh,
Manager:Jothikumaran.
Doctor: P.K.Ramesh.
Judo: Laurembam Brojeshwari Devi (52 Kg).
Coach: Narender Singh.
Rowing: Inderpal Singh, Kasam Khan (Coxless Pair)
Coach:Theodore Joseph Bonanno.
Manager: C.P.Singh Deo.
Shooting: (Men) Anwar Sultan (trap),Abhinav Bindra (10 m Air Rifle)
(Women): Anjali Ved Pathak (Air Rifle).
Coaches: Marcello Dradi, Laszlo Szucsuk.
Armourer: Dhiren Bhatia.
Swimming: (Men) Hakimuddin Shabbir Habibulla (200m free style)
(Woman) Nisha Millet (200 m free style).
Coach: Kanti Vardhan Sharma.
Table Tennis: (Men) Raman Subramaniam, Chetan Baboor
(Woman) Poulomi Ghatak.
Coach: Samal Villivalam Sunder.
Tennis: Leander Adrian Paes. Mahesh Bhupathi.
Coach: Ramesh Krishnan
Doctor: Vace Paes.
Weightlifting: (Men) Thandava Murthy Muthu.
(Women) T.Baijan Sanamacha Chanu, Karnam Malleswari.
Coaches: Pal Singh Sandhu, Leonid Taranenka.
Manager: Balbir Singh
Doctor: Andrei semenikov.
Wrestling: Gurbinder Singh (63 Kg)
Coach: Randhir Singh.
IOA Officials: Chef de Mission: Ashok Kumar Mattoo
Deputy Chef de Mission: V.M.Dutta.Treasurer:Mrs Amrit Bose.
Support Staff: Brig (Rtd) N.B. Singh, A.S.V. Prasad, M.S. Bains, Virender Baloni, Sandeep Mehta, Sunita Garware, Bruce Baird and Vijay Kumar.
The last three are based in Australia.
— UNI
