Athletics Federation of India today announced a 31-member squad, including two from Odisha for the 21st Commonwealth Games-2018, scheduled to be held at Gold Coast in Australia from April 4 to 15. The squad includes 18 male and 13 female athletes.

Of the two Odisha athletes, Purnima Hembram will compete in heptathlon and Januna Murmu in 4x400m relay. However, Odisha women Olympians Dutee Chand, Srabani Nanda and National record-holding male sprinter Amiya Kumar Mallick failed to get berths in the national squad.

In the 2014 Commonwealth Games, held in Glasgow, India had fielded 32 track and field athletes and won three medals (1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze).

INDIAN ATHLETICS SQUAD:

Men: Jinson Johnson (500m), Dharun Ayyasamy (400m hurdles, 4x400m relay), Tejaswin Shankar (high jump), Siddharth Yadav (high jump), Sreeshankar (long jump), Arpinder Singh (triple jump), Rakesh Babu Arayan Veerttil (triple jump), Tajinderpal Singh Toor (shot put), Neeraj Chopra (javelin throw), Vipin Kasana (javelin throw), Irfan Kolothum Thodi (20km race walk), Manish Singh Rawat (20km race walk), Muhammed Anas Yahiya (4x400m relay), Jeevan Karekoppa Suresh (4x400m relay), Amoj Jacob (4x400m relay), Kunhu Mohammed Puthanpurakkal (4x400m relay), Jithu Baby (4x400m relay), Arokiya Rajiv (4x400m relay).

Women: Hima Das (200m & 400m, 4x400m relay), Suriya Longanathan (10000m), Nayana James (long jump), Neena Pinto (long jump), Seema Punia (discus throw), Navjeet Kaur Dhillon (discus throw), Purnima Hembram (heptathlon), Soumya Baby (20km race walk), Khushbir Kaur (20km race walk), Poovamma Raju Machettira (4x400m relay), Sonia Baishya (4x400m relay), Saritaben Laxmanbhai Gayakwad (4x400m relay), Juana Murmu (4x400m relay).