IOA releases list of 117 athletes; Abha missing

New Delhi: India will be represented by 117 athletes at this month's Paris Olympics after the sports ministry cleared the final contingent that also features 140 support staff and officials, of which 72 have been approved at "cost to the government" to meet the "requirements" of the travelling sportspersons. The only qualified athlete missing from the list is shot-putter Abha Khatua.

The Games will run from July 26 to August 11. Khatua, who made the cut through world rankings quota, has been dropped without any explanation after her name was found missing from the World Athletics' list of Olympic participants a few days ago. There is no word yet on whether her name has been knocked off owing to injury, a doping violation or any other technical issue.

The rest of the contingent that has been cleared is on expected lines with London Olympics bronze medal-winning former shooter Gagan Narang as chef-de-mission. Narang is also a vice president in the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). Athletics will make for the biggest group in the contingent with 29 names (11 women and 18 men), followed by shooting (21) and hockey (19). Table tennis will be represented by eight players, while badminton (7) will feature seven competitors, including two-time Olympic medallist P V Sindhu. Wrestling (6), archery (6), and boxing (6) will have six representatives each, followed by golf (4), tennis (3), swimming (2), sailing (2), and one each for equestrian, judo, rowing and weightlifting. The shooting contingent, which is the second biggest, consists of 11 women and 10 men, while table tennis will have four players each in both categories. Tokyo Olympic silver medallist Mirabai Chanu is the lone weightlifter in the contingent and will compete in women's 49kg category.