The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) on Friday threatened action against all those who do not perform well in the Tokyo Olympics after deciding not to pull out long jumper M. Sreeshankar and 20km race walker KT Irfan from the Games despite a dip in their form.

AFI’s selection committee, in an emergency meeting, arrived at a “unanimous decision” to not pull the two athletes out of the 26-member squad.

Despite strong opinion from some members that Sreeshankar and Irfan should be withdrawn after they underperformed in the trials in Bangalore, the committee noted that the federation had called the trials to assess fitness and not form.

AFI president Adille Sumariwalla said the coaches of both the athletes had been spoken to about their lacklustre form in the trials.

“If the athletes do not perform well in the Olympics, we will take action against them,” he said, asserting that the message is meant for all those who are on the flight to Tokyo.

During a fitness trial held on Wednesday at the Sports Authority of India centre in Bangalore, Sreeshankar’s best jump was 7.48m, a far cry from the 8.26m he recorded during the Federation Cup in March to qualify for the Tokyo Games.

Irfan, who underwent a fitness trial on July 9, was the first track and field athlete to qualify for the Olympics way back in March 2019 during the Asian Race Walking Championships in Nomi, Japan. He had contracted Covid-19 in May and has recovered since then.

A 44-member contingent, including 25 athletes, left for Tokyo on Friday. Star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, along with his physio and coach, will arrive in Tokyo on Monday from his training base in Sweden.