NEW DELHI: A five-member team of long jumpers and triple jumpers left here on Friday for Bologna, Italy, on a 53-day training programme in the build-up towards the Asian Games in Doha.

The batch comprised three long jumpers, Mahan Singh, Shiv Shankar Yadav and Shamsher Singh, and two triple jumpers, Amarjit Singh and M. Renjith. Uzbek coach Evgene Shvilli, who has been in charge of the Indian jumpers for more than a year, has also accompanied the team.

High hopes

Shvilli said on Thursday that he had hopes on both long jumpers and triple jumpers providing medals for the country at the Asian Games. The Uzbek coach felt that Indians have the capacity to win two medals in triple jump and at least a medal in long jump in Doha.

Amarjit and Renjith have bests of 16.58m and 16.42m respectively in triple jump. Mohinder Singh Gill holds the National record of 16.79m since 1971. Saudi Arabian Muhammad Al-Khuwailidi, with an Asian record of 8.48m, and Chinese Li Yanxi, with a 17.12m, lead the season's lists in Asia in long jump and triple jump.

Meanwhile, a batch of 15 Indian athletes is currently in Ukraine, also preparing for the Asian Games.

The squad to Ukraine comprised six men, Satbir Singh, Bhupinder Singh, Srinivas, P. Shankar, P.S. Sreejith and K.M. Binu (400m) and nine women, Manjeet Kaur, Satti Geetha, Chitra K. Soman, Rajwinder Kaur and Ashik Beewi (400m); Seema Antil, Harwant Kaur and Krishna Poonia (discus) and J.J. Shobha (heptathlon).

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