Tajinderpal Singh Toor opts out of National Inter-State Athletics with ankle pain

Tajinderpal Singh Toor has been forced to miss the upcoming National Inter-State Athletics in Panchkula after suffering from ankle pain. The Championships are the final qualifying event before the Paris Olympics.

Shot Putter Toor, an Asian record holder till a few days back, is set to qualify for the Summer Games through world ranking quota. He is the reigning continental champion as well as Asian Games gold medallist.

“I am currently having slight ankle pain and my doctor told me not to throw for three-four weeks,” Toor told PTI without specifying when the pain began.

The 29-year-old’s Asian record of 21.77m was bettered on 21 June by Saudi Arabia’s Mohamed Daouda Tolo during the Estadio Vallehermoso event in Madrid with an effort of 21.80m.

It remains to be seen how the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) deals with Toor’s absence considering they had made the event mandatory for all, except Neeraj Chopra .

“Except for Neeraj, all the other athletes will have to participate in the National Inter-State Championships,” AFI president Adille Sumariwalla had said during the Federation Cup in Bhubaneswar.

The men’s shot put events in the Paris Olympics will be held on 2 August (qualifying) and 3 August (final).

As per AFI rules, all athletes are required to participate in the National Inter-State Championships if they have to get selected for major multi-sport events like the Olympics, Asian Games or the Commonwealth Games, unless the federation grants an exemption.

Toor has been struggling with injury concerns in the last few years. He had undergone surgery on the left wrist, his throwing arm, just after the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

He suffered a groin injury while winning gold at the Asian Championships in 2023 in Bangkok, leading to pulling out of the World Championships in Budapest the following month.

Toor has not met the automatic Paris Olympics qualifying mark of 21.50m during the window between 1 July, 2023 and 30 June, 2024. He had thrown 21.77m on 19 June, 2023 but since then he has crossed the 20m mark only thrice.

Avinash Sable, another Asian Games gold medallist, who has met the automatic Paris Olympics qualifying mark in men’s 3000m steeplechase, is not in the list of competitors in his pet event. He has entered the 1500m event instead.

National record holder 20km race walker Akshdeep Singh, who has also breached the Paris Games qualifying mark, is also missing from the list. Women’s 20km race walk national record holder Priyanka Goswami, who has also qualified for Paris Olympics, is also not in the list.