An 11-member Indian team will compete in the 2022 World Team Walking Championships, in Muscat, Oman, from Friday. Olympians Sandeep Kumar and Priyanka Goswami, national record holders for the 20km, will spearhead the Indian contingent at the championship.
Sandeep will compete in the men’s 20km walk with Suraj Panwar on Friday, while Priyanka Goswami will compete in the women’s 35km event on Saturday. Bhawna Jat, another Olympian from Tokyo, will compete in the women’s 20km walk alongside Ravina and fellow 20-year-old debutante Munita Prajapati.
On the other hand, seasoned walkers like KT Irfan, Gurpreet Singh and Rahul Rohila missed the cut, after failing to prove their fitness. National champion in the men’s 35 km walk, Manish Rawat did not join the team either.
Amit Khatri and Reshma Patel will compete in the junior men’s and women’s 10km walk respectively. Interestingly, India has never won a medal at this event. At the last event held in China, in 2018, Sandeep’s 27th place was the best by an Indian.
India team
Men 35km: Ram Baboo, Chandan Singh and Eknath Sambhaji
20 km men: Sandeep Kumar and Suraj Panwar
U20 Men 10km: Amit Khatri
Women’s 35km: Priyanka Goswami
20 km women: Bhawna Jat, Ravina and Munita Prajapati
U20 Women 10k: Reshma Patel
