AFI clears Sreeshankar and Irfan for Tokyo

Nod comes with rider: coaches could face action if the two athletes fail to produce worthwhile performances

The Athletics Federation of India has cleared long jumper M. Sreeshankar and race walker K.T. Irfan for the Olympics after their coaches submitted written assurance their athletes would produce at least their qualification performance in Tokyo. The AFI conducted “fitness trials” for the two athletes in Bengaluru recently and made it clear that it was not happy with their form. Sreeshankar, who qualified for Tokyo after breaking his own National record with an 8.26m jump in the Federation Cup in March, had jumped 7.48m in his trials a couple of days ago.