Neeraj Chopra’s replacement: Yashvir Singh drafted into India’s Asian Games javelin squad

New Delhi: Glasgow Commonwealth Games bronze medallist javelin thrower Yashvir Singh has been drafted into India’s Asian Games athletics squad, replacing two-time Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra, who was ruled out for the season following an ankle ligament tear.Yashvir, who recently threw a personal best of 85.41m at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, will team up with the in-form Rohit Yadav (personal best 87.05m) to anchor India’s two-member men’s javelin campaign at Aichi-Nagoya.Meanwhile, former long jumper and Athletics Federation of India (AFI) senior vice-president Anju Bobby George will not travel as team leader, it’s been learnt. Though proposed by the AFI, her name was not cleared by the sports ministry adhering to its guidelines which say: IOA will ensure that any person, if he/she is holding elected position in EC of IOA, any NSF or any sports body, whose name has been included in the list of team officials, will be treated at no cost to the govt.The final athletics squad strength has been pruned to 77. Distance runner Abhishek Pal was dropped after testing positive for clomiphene. “It is not a case of returning dope positive, but as National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) investigates, we don’t want to take any risks,” said AFI planning committee chairman Lalit Bhanot. Additionally, 110m hurdler Tejas Shirse was ruled out due to foot stress fractures suffered during CWG.These two exclusions offset the latest addition of six athletes — Harita Bhadra (200m), Kiran Pahal (400m), Sindhushree G (pole vault), I Asha Ilango (triple jump), Sanya Yadav (discus), and Praveen Kumar (hammer throw) — who were cleared by the ministry after the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) accepted IOA’s late request for their addition, bringing the count from 73 to 79 before Pal and Shirse’s omissions brought the contingent size down to 77.AFI is also seeking approval for Hangzhou double-medallist Avinash Sable to compete in the 5,000m alongside his confirmed 3,000m steeplechase event. However, Sable must first breach the AFI qualification mark of 13:39.18s at the Indian Athletics Series Finals here on Sept 10, where most Asian Games-bound athletes will compete.Know Yashvir-- Born in Devsar, Haryana and raised in Jaipur, Raj.-- Shifted from basketball to javelin at age 13, initially practicing with bamboo javelins.-- Coached by his father Rai Singh, a former Indian Railways national champion.-- Broke Chopra’s U-20 Federation Cup record in 2021; joined the 80m club in 2022 (82.13m).-- Overcame major shoulder surgery in late 2023 that kept him out for nearly a year.-- Claimed bronze at Glasgow CWG with a final-throw personal best of 85.41m.-- Became only the third Indian male javelin medallist in CWG history after Kashinath Naik and Chopra.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.