New Delhi, April 9 A 12-member Indian squad, led by Ram Baboo and Manju Rani, will compete in the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships in Brasilia, Brazil, on April 12.
The other members of the Indian team are Sandeep Kumar, Hardeep, Sahil, Servin Sebasthiyan, Akshdeep Singh among men, and Payal, Priyanka Goswami, Mansi Negi, Munita Prajapati, Ravina among women.
The athletes are leaving for Brazil on Thursday night after their visas were cleared late in the evening.
"Yes, the team is leaving for Brazil tonight. The athletes have got their visas cleared," a top official of the Athletics Federation on India (AFI) said.
In this edition, there are no 20km and 35km race walking events. They are replaced by a new programme featuring the half marathon and marathon as well as a 10km event for U20.
In addition to competing as individuals, athletes also represent their nation, chasing team titles across the events.
In each race, a nation enters a small group of walkers. In senior competitions, a team can include up to five athletes, but only the top three finishers actually count towards the team score.
To be eligible for the team result, a country must have three finishers to make up a scoring team. If they do not, those athletes still count in the individual race, but the team is effectively out of contention.
The team score is the sum of the finishing positions of the three scoring athletes.
In junior events, the top two finishers of each country count towards the team score.
The Indian Team:
Men's Marathon Race Walk: Ram Baboo, Sandeep Kumar
Men's Half Marathon Race Walk: Hardeep, Sahil, Servin Sebasthiyan, Akshdeep Singh
Women's Marathon Race Walk: Payal, Priyanka Goswami, Manju Rani
Women's Half Marathon Race Walk: Mansi Negi, Munita Prajapati, Ravina.