India's Vikash Singh and Paramjeet Singh finished at lowly 30th and 37th positions respectively while national record-holder Akshdeep Singh pulled out after the 6km mark in Paris
It's a downfall for the powerhouse that produced some iconic names such as PT Usha, Shiny Wilson, Anju Bobby George, Rosa Kutty, Mercy Kuttan and Bobby Aloysius among others."
Among other sportspersons, KT Irfan, PU Chitra, 19 other athletes test negative while the health of one positive athlete being monitored at SAI Bengaluru.
The 24-year-old Shivpal Singh crossed the qualifying standard of 85m by hurling the spear to a distance of 85.47m in his fifth attempt to win gold in the ACNW Meeting at the McArthur Stadium late on Tuesday.
Five other elite track and field athletes have also tested positive at the SAI centre in Bengaluru.
Star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra qualified for the Tokyo Olympics with a throw of 87.86m at the ACNE League meeting in Potchefstroom, South Africa, making an impressive return after recovering from an elbow injury. The 22-year-old Indian, who missed the entire 2019 season due to the injury, breached the Olympic qualification mark of 85m in his fourth attempt and secured the top place at the international event on Tuesday.
The Athletics Federation of India has threatened action against all those who do not perform well in the Olympics after deciding not to withdraw long jumper M Sreeshankar and 20km race walker KT Irfan from the Tokyo Games despite a dip in their form.
The Planning Committee encouraged athletes to maintain their physical fitness and strictly follow their diet charts. AFI's Planning Committee conveyed its message to athletes during an online meeting with the national campers, coaches and support staff.
Rani had bettered her own national record with a throw of 63.24m during the Federation Cup in March before a performance of 62.83m in the National Inter-State Championships this week.
Unheralded Bhawana Jat qualified for the Tokyo Olympics in the 20km race walk event after pulling off a shock win with a national record time at the National Championships in Ranchi on Saturday. The 23-year-old athlete, who hails from a poor farmer's family at Kabra village in Rajasthan's Rajsamand district, clocked 1 hour 29 minutes and 54 seconds, well inside the Olympic qualification time of 1:31:00, to win the gold.
She threw a distance of 63.72m in the women's discus throw at the National Inter-State #Athletics Championship to punch her ticket to the Games.
Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday said a team has been formed to draw up a post-lockdown Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to be followed by athletes, coaches and other staff during outdoor training that will resume in a "planned manner". He assured the athletes that their training will resume soon but given the risks the coronavirus pandemic poses, the process will involve consultations with home and health ministries.
World Athletics Championships to be held in Doha from September 27.
Check out the complete schedule of Indian athletes at the Tokyo Olympics
OGQ has launched a crowd funding campaign to assist training and preparation of their potential medal winning athletes -- Irfan KT (Race Walking), Vikas Gowda (Discus Throw), Ayonika Paul and Pooja Ghatkar (both Rifle Shooting).
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
For a discipline that has given Indian athletes only the Olympian's tag, the country's track and field participants will begin their campaign in the Rio Olympics on Thursday, with little hope to break the 116-year-old medal jinx.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
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