New Delhi: Shivpal Singh, India's Tokyo Olympic bound javelin thrower, will miss the National Senior Federation Cup athletics meet starting on March 15 at Patiala as his name reportedly was put on the injury list.
According to sources, the 25-year-old thrower from Uttar Pradesh has sprained his ankle. "Since he is an Olympic hopeful it's better to take a short break now," said a national-level coach, justifying the break.
Singh, however, found noncommittal.
Also Read: Neeraj Chopra breaks his own national record in javelin
In the recently concluded Indian Grand Prix athletics in Patiala, Singh came second with a throw of 81.63m as the 2018 Asian Games gold medallist Neeraj Chopra clinched the yellow metal with a national record of 88.07m.
In March 2020, Singh booked his Tokyo berth with a throw of 85.47m in South Africa as he breached the Tokyo Olympics qualifying mark of 85m.
Neeraj qualified for the Olympics in January last year crossing the qualifying mark at a South African meet.
The performance graph of Singh, who achieved a personal best of 86.23m on his way to winning silver at the 2019 Doha Asian Championships, has been erratic. Despite training in the national camp for the past 18 months, he hasn't come close to his personal best.
Also Read: I want to throw over 90: Neeraj Chopra after breaking national record
As per the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) website, only 17 athletes have entered the men's javelin competition. Of the 17, five each from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Besides Chopra, Sahil Silwal from Haryana and Rohit Yadav of Uttar Pradesh will be the ones to watch out for.
In the women's group, only nine athletes have sent their entries, with Asian medallist Annu Rani being the biggest draw. Kumari Sharmila of Haryana is another leading thrower in the fray.
