Indian track-and-field athletes participating in the World Athletics Championships, including defending javelin throw gold-medallist Neeraj Chopra, will mostly train in Europe and the USA before the September event after the Union Sports Ministry’s Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) approved lengthy exposure trips to enhance their medal prospects.

At the 157th meeting of the MOC, athletics was the biggest beneficiary as training and competition proposals amounting to Rs 86 lakh were approved. A major share of the amount was set aside for those who have qualified for the Tokyo event, which is scheduled from September 13 to 21.

Steeplechasers Avinash Sable and Parul Chaudhary and long-distance runner Gulveer Singh will be training at Colorado Springs, Los Angeles from July 15 to September 3. They are all national record holders who performed well during the Asian Championships in May. As expected, Sable had won gold, while Chaudhary brought home silver medals in women’s steeplechase and 5000m races. Gulveer had won gold medals in men’s 10,000m as well as 5,000m, clocking a championship record in 5,000m. The government has approved Rs 41.29 lakh for their training expenses. Neeraj Chopra, on the other hand, will train in Czech Republic at a cost of Rs 19 lakh.

The MOC also sanctioned Rs 10.32 lakh for middle distance runner Ajay Kumar Saroj to train with the elite athletes at Colorado Springs. He had won a silver medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023. Long jumper Murali Sreeshankar will be heading for competitions in Europe and Central Asia (Portugal, Spain and Kazakhstan) from July 19 till August 14, for which the government has approved Rs 5.58 lakh.

Women’s long jump prospects Ancy Sojan and Shaili Singh, who won a bronze medal in the Asian Championships, will also be in Europe for events in London, Berlin and Lausanne at a cost of Rs 9.21 lakh.