Annu Rani Dropped as AFI Trims India’s Athletics Contingent for Asian Games 2026

India’s athletics contingent for the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya has been reduced from 77 to 74 athletes after the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) conducted its final assessment, with defending women’s javelin champion Annu Rani among the three athletes dropped from the squad.

Rani, who won the women’s javelin gold medal at the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou in 2023, was unable to meet the qualification standard set by the AFI despite winning the final trial in New Delhi on Thursday. Sprinter Nithya Gandhe and long jumper Shahnavaz Khan were the other two athletes removed from the contingent following the final assessment.

The changes come just days before the Indian athletics team is scheduled to leave for Japan, with the final squad now comprising 74 athletes.

Rani’s omission is the biggest talking point from the AFI’s final selection decision. The 34-year-old won the women’s javelin competition at the Indian Athletics Series Final at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi with a season-best throw of 57.50 metres. However, that effort was not enough to secure her place in the Asian Games squad.

The AFI had set a qualification mark of 57.62m, leaving Rani 12 centimetres short of the required distance. AFI Selection Committee chairman Adille Sumariwalla clarified that the Delhi event was a confirmatory trial rather than another opportunity for athletes to qualify. “The Indian Athletics Series Final was a confirmatory event and not a qualifying one,” Sumariwalla told PTI, explaining that athletes who had already breached the qualifying standard could have their selections confirmed, but those who had not met the mark by the final qualifying event could not gain selection through Thursday’s competition.

Rani had struggled to reach the AFI benchmark throughout the season. She had not crossed 57.62m in her previous eight competitions, and her best effort in Delhi remained below the required distance.

Her exclusion is particularly notable because of her record at the Asian Games. Rani produced the biggest throw of the women's javelin competition in Hangzhou in 2023, winning gold with 62.92m. She has, however, found it difficult to reproduce those distances consistently in the seasons since. Her best throw was 60.68m in 2024 and 62.59m in 2025. Her last throw beyond 60m came in August 2025 at the National Inter-State Championships, where she recorded 61.05m.

Rani's personal best of 63.82m, set in 2022, remains the Indian national record.

Gandhe also removed from squad

Sprinter Nithya Gandhe has also been dropped from the Asian Games contingent after the final assessment. Gandhe had originally been selected as part of India’s women’s 4x100m relay squad but finished ninth in the individual 100m final in Delhi, clocking 11.93 seconds. The 26-year-old has a season-best of 11.59 seconds and a personal best of 11.41 seconds. Her removal could potentially create an opportunity for Harita Bhadra, who won the 100m final in Delhi in 11.22 seconds.

Bhadra is already selected for the 200m and 4x100m mixed relay events at the Asian Games. However, her participation in the individual 100m event would require approval from the Asian Games organisers. The final decision on the relay composition will therefore be another point of interest as India prepares to travel to Japan.

Long jumper Shahnavaz Khan was the third athlete dropped from the contingent. Sumariwalla cited performance as the reason for his exclusion. With the three changes, the AFI has reduced India's athletics team to 74 athletes. The squad is now set to depart from New Delhi on Saturday before attending a short acclimatisation camp at the University of Tsukuba near Tokyo. The team will subsequently travel to Aichi-Nagoya on September 21, with the athletics events scheduled to begin two days later.

For Rani, the decision brings an unexpected end to her attempt to defend the Asian Games title she won three years ago. Her victory in Thursday's final trial demonstrated that she remained competitive, but the AFI's selection policy required her to clear the prescribed qualification benchmark. India will therefore enter the Aichi-Nagoya Games without its defending women's javelin champion, while the country's wider athletics contingent will look to produce performances capable of maintaining India's strong showing at the continental event.

The final assessment has brought clarity to the athletics squad, but it has also highlighted the increasingly demanding standards athletes must meet to earn selection for major international competitions.