After missing the whole of last year with a knee injury, Rupal Chaudhary, the 2022 under-20 Worlds 400m bronze medallist, has made a comeback to the Indian team for the World Athletics Relays, which will be held in Nassau, Bahamas, on May 4 and 5. The 19-year-old from Meerut, also a bronze medallist at the last under-20 Worlds in Colombia, figures in the Indian 4x400m women’s and mixed relay teams as per the entry list put up by World Athletics.
After the knee injury, Rupal was training at the Reliance Foundation center in Mumbai early this year. “Rupal joined the (national) camp. Also, Reliance has a tie-up with the AFI to share coaching facilities and expertise,” Adille Sumariwalla, the Athletics Federation of India president, told from Dubai, which will host the under-20 Asian Championships from Wednesday.
Rupal, the No. 2 in India’s all-time junior 400m list with her 51.85s (2022, under-20 Worlds), has a best of 52.79s this season, which came at the 400m Indian Open in Thiruvananthapuram in March. Prominent stars like national record-holder Muhammed Anas, Amoj Jacob, Vithya Ramraj, and Aishwarya Mishra also figure in the Indian team.
Men: Amoj Jacob, Avinash Krishna Kumar, Arokia Rajiv, Rajesh Ramesh, Noah Nirmal Tom, Muhammed Ajmal, Muhammed Anas, P. Yashas.
Women: Jyothika Sri Dandi, M.R. Poovamma, Aishwarya Mishra, Prachi, Vithya Ramraj, Rupal Chaudhary, Subha Venkatesan.
Mixed: Jyothika Sri Dandi, Amoj Jacob, Rajesh Ramesh, Vithya Ramraj, Rupal Chaudhary, P. Yashas.
