NEW DELHI: The absence of Neeraj Chopra may have taken away Indian athletics’ biggest individual name, but former long jumper Anju Bobby George believes it need not take away from the athletics contingent’s medal ambitions at the Asian Games. The 2003 Paris World Championships bronze medallist expects India’s track and field contingent to cross the 30-medal mark.India won 29 athletics medals — six gold, 14 silver and nine bronze — at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, its best-ever medal haul in the sport at the continental showpiece. “Neeraj is a big name in athletics, with multiple world-level medals. It is very unfortunate that he is not in our team this time because of an ankle injury. Yes, that’s a setback,” Anju told TOI in an exclusive interview. “But definitely we have many other athletes who are performing well. This time, we are expecting more than last time — more than 30, maybe 32.”For Anju, the defining feature of the current athletics squad is its breadth. Rather than relying on one or two medal contenders, there are podium possibilities across disciplines, particularly the jumps, middle and long-distance events and relays. “This is the beauty of our athletics contingent this time. If you take any event, we are aiming for medals,” she said.The women’s long jump could be one of the most intriguing contests for India in Aichi-Nagoya, with Ancy Sojan and Shaili Singh both entering as serious medal hopes. Ancy, in June this year, jumped 6.88m in Bhubaneswar to break Anju’s 22-year-old national record of 6.83m.“Records are always meant to be broken because that is the path, that’s the growth,” she said. “Otherwise, after I got the World Championships medal, nobody else would’ve done such wonderful achievements for Indian athletics. Ancy is now seasoned, she’s fixed and she’s performing. Shaili is also jumping above 6.80m, but she is yet to set her approach and rhythm and is committing fouls. Otherwise, both jumpers are equally good. We are expecting gold and silver. Either Ancy or Shaili will win gold.”In men’s long jump, Murali Sreeshankar provides another compelling comeback story. The 27-year-old, who missed the Paris Olympics after suffering a patellar tendon rupture in 2024, has returned to top level and produced an 8.38m season-best in June — the second-best jump of his career behind his 8.41m national record.“He is such a tremendous athlete. He was nowhere last year because of the injury. We wonder how he came back, how he conquered again. After injuries, especially in jumps and that too in the take-off leg, coming back is such a big, big thing. He did that with his mental strength,” Anju said.(Watch Asian Games live & exclusive on Sony Sports and Sony LIV)