Neeraj Chopra Set for Comeback, Named in India's 32-Member Athletics Squad for CWG 2026

Neeraj Chopra, the Olympic gold and silver medal-winning javelin thrower, has been named in India's 32-member athletics squad for the 2026 Commonwealth

Games. The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) confirmed on Sunday, June 14, that the star javelin thrower has recovered from a back injury and is set to return to competition in ten days. Neeraj has been away from competition since the 2025 World Athletics Championships, held in Tokyo in September, where he made a disappointing eighth place finish. “Neeraj Chopra has recovered from his back injury. He will be returning to action probably in the next 10 days. He asked us to add him and we expect him to play a few meets this month,” AFI Selection Committee chairman Adille Sumariwalla said in a virtual press conference on Sunday. Despite being in the squad, Neeraj's qualification for the Commonwealth Games is not certain since he has been named in the Indian squad provisionally. Sumariwalla said Neeraj will have to compete and achieve the Commonwealth Games 2026 qualification standard (82.61m) to secure his place. The 28-year-old has been named in the Indian squad alongside two more javelin throwers - Rohit Yadav and Yash Vir Singh, who secured qualification at the Indian Athletics Series 9 in Ludhiana on June 13 with their personal-best throws of 83.76m and 82.93m, respectively. A notable absentee from the squad was Sachin Yadav, who finished fourth at the World Championships last year. However, an elbow injury sustained at the Indian Athletics Series-3 in New Delhi has ruled Sachin out of the CWG, to be held in Glasgow from July 23 to August 2. The squad includes 22 male and 10 female athletes. The CWG qualification window for athletics ended on June 14. In the 2022 edition of the quadrennial event, Neeraj failed to defend his gold medal due to an injury. At the Gold Coast CWG in 2018, Neeraj became the first Indian javelin thrower to win the gold medal. Alongside Neeraj, triple jumper Selva Prabhu has also been selected provisionally, subject to breaking the qualification mark.

India's 2026 Commonwealth Games Athletics Squad

Men's Squad

1. Gurindervir Singh — 100m
2. Animesh Kujur — 200m
3. Gulveer Singh — 5000m / 10000m
4. Tejas Ashok Shirse — 110m Hurdles
5. Yashas P — 400m Hurdles
6. Santhosh Kumar Tamilarasan — 400m Hurdles
7. Sarvesh Anil Kushare — High Jump
8. Aadarsh Ramaj — High Jump
9. Dev Meena — Pole Vault
10. Kuldeep Kumar — Pole Vault
11. Sreeshankar M — Long Jump
12. Lokesh Sathyanathan — Long Jump
13. Praveen Chithravel — Triple Jump
14. Selva Prabhu — Triple Jump*
15. Samardeep Singh Gill — Shot Put
16. Tajinderpal Singh Toor — Shot Put
17. Neeraj Chopra — Javelin Throw*
18. Rohit Yadav — Javelin Throw
19. Yash Vir Singh — Javelin Throw
20. Tejaswin Shankar — Decathlon / High Jump
21. Vishal T K — 400m Relay / 4x400m Relay
22. Rajesh Ramesh — 400m Relay / 4x400m Relay

Women's Squad

1. Parul Chaudhary — 3000m Steeplechase / 5000m
2. Pooja — High Jump
3. Manpreet Kaur — Shot Put
4. Seema — Discus Throw
5. Nidhi Rani — Discus Throw
6. Ravina A. — 10000m Race Walk
7. Priyanka — 10000m Race Walk
8. Ansa Babu — 4x400m Relay
9. Rashdeep Kaur — 4x400m Relay
10. Neeru Pathak — 4x400m Relay