Ace middle distance runner Pinki Pramanik and shot putter Navpreet Singh are among five Indians in the Asian team for the Athletics World Cup, to be held in Athens, Greece, on September 16 and 17.
Pramanik, who won three gold medals at the recently-concluded South Asian Games in Colombo, has been in terrific form of late. She shot into the limelight after capturing five gold medals in three Asian Grand Prix circuit meets in May.
She has been selected for the 800m and is one of the runners in the women's 4x400m relay.
Shot putter Navpreet Singh, ranked 49th in the world, is the sole male athlete in the Indian contingent.
Top quarter miler Manjeet Kaur will fly the Indian flag in the 400m as well as the 1600m relay.
The notable absentees from the Asian team include world number eight long jumper Anju Bobby George, who paid the price for lacklustre performances and injuries this season, and Commonwealth Games discus throw silver medallist Seema Antil.
The Athletics World Cup is a unique quadrennial event on the world calendar with continental teams battling it out for the trophy.
However, apart from five continental sides, the United States and winners and runners-up of the European Championships - Russia and France in this case - make up the eight contenders at the event, which has separate competitions for men and women.
Manjeet, ranked 40th in the world, is presently on an exposure trip to Ukraine in preparation for the World Cup as well as the Doha Asian Games.
The Punjab athlete is the national record-holder in the 400 metres with a time of 50.05 seconds. At the Asian Athletics Championships in Incheon, South Korea, last year, she won gold medals in the 400m and 4x400m relay.
She was part of the Indian team that reached the final at the 2004 Athens Olympics, while at the 2002 Busan Asian Games, she won the gold medal in the 4x400m.
She is also an Asian record-holder in the relay and won the silver medal at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games.
Sathi Geetha and Chitra Soman will also be part of the Asian 4x400m relay team at Athens. Both are currently in Ukraine on the training stint arranged by the Athletics Federation of India.
Soman, Kaur and Pramanik, along with Rajwinder Kaur, had bagged the silver medal at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games earlier this year.
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