India’s athletics squad for the 2026 Commonwealth Games has been finalised, with the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) naming a 32-member squad that combines established international stars with several emerging talents in track and field events.The squad announced on Sunday includes 22 male athletes and 10 female athletes, fulfilling India’s quota for the Glasgow Games. Olympic and World Champion Neeraj Chopra is one of the biggest names on the list, although his participation is subject to meeting pre-selection requirements.India’s men’s team has considerable strength in the jump and throw disciplines. The likes of M Srishankar, Tejsoon Shankar, Tajinderpal Singh Toor, Parveen Chithravel and Rohit Yadav have secured places in the squad, while Gurvinder Vir Singh, Animesh Kajjar and Gul Vir Singh will lead the country’s challenge on the track in the sprint and distance events.The women’s squad will rely heavily on experienced performers including Parul Chaudhary in the endurance events. In the field events, Manpreet Kaur, Seema and Nidhi Rani have secured selection in the throwing discipline while Raveena and Priyanka will represent India in the 10,000m race walk.The AFI has also announced a dedicated pool for the mixed 4x400m relay, comprising Vishal TK, Rajesh Ramesh, Ansa Babu, Rushdeep Kaur and Nirav Pathak.Adil Samariwala, vice-president of World Athletics and former AFI president, explained that the final selection strictly adheres to the federation’s established policy, which includes consideration of athletes competing abroad after obtaining prior approval from the federation.“We have selected the team today. As you know we have a quota of 32 players, we have selected 22 men and 10 women to fulfill the quota. As we have mentioned earlier, our selection has been done as per the AAFI policy. We have also mentioned in the policy that the performance of the players who have sought special permission, who have participated abroad, is taken into consideration beforehand.” Samariwala said during a virtual media interaction on Sunday.One of the main points of discussion following this announcement was the inclusion of Neeraj Chopra and triple jumper Selva Prabhu under conditional selection. Both athletes have requested that upcoming performances for Glasgow be taken into account before their participation is officially confirmed.According to Samariwala, the federation agreed to review the results of the scheduled competitions before making a final decision.“We have selected two people and they have requested to consider their performance, one in the upcoming inter-state meet. That is Selva Prabhu who is also an NCAA athlete and also Neeraj who has requested to compete in a couple of events before the Commonwealth Games. If they meet their qualifying criteria, Nijh will also be selected before requesting to participate in the international pair. Commonwealth Games,” Samariwala added. saidIndian Squad in CWG 2026:Male:Gurvinder Veer Singh – 100m, Animesh Kajoor – 200m, Gulveer Singh – 5000m, 10,000m, Tejas Ashok Sharsay – 110m Hurdles, Yashas P – 400m Hurdles, Santosh Kumar Tamil Rason – 400m Hurdles, Suresh Ram High Jump, Suresh Josh High Jump, Dev Meena – Pole Vault, Kuldeep Kumar – Pole Vault, M Srishankar – Long Jump, Lokesh Satyanathan – Long Jump, Parveen Chithravel – Triple Jump, Selva Prabhu * – Triple Jump, Samardeep Singh Gill – Shot Put, Tajinderpal Singh Toor – Shot Put, Yavel Throw – Javeen Throw, Rohin Throw Yashvir Singh – Javelin Throw, Tejsoon Shankar – Decathlon, High JumpWomenParul Chaudhary – 3000m Steeplechase, 5000m, Pooja – High Jump, Manpreet Kaur – Shot Put, Seema – Discus Throw, Nidhi Rani – Discus Throw, Raveena – 10,000m Race Walk, Priyanka – 10,000m Race WalkMixed relay pool (4x400m mixed relay) – Vishal TK, Rajesh Ramesh, Ansa Babu, Rushdeep Kaur, Nirav PathakThe selection of Neeraj Chopra and Selva Prabhu remains provisional and will depend on their performance in the scheduled events before the Commonwealth Games.
