New Delhi : A year of practice in isolation, challenging herself and fighting social odds has finally paid off for the quartermiler.

The 25-year-old, whose two-year ban for doping ended on July 3, was on Saturday picked in the Indian 4×400 metres squad for the World Championships in Moscow next month.

Ashwini Akkunji, a double gold medallist at the 2010 Asian Games, clocked 54.7 seconds and finished joint second in the trials at Patiala on Friday.

Although this was far from her personal best of 52.82, the Mangalore lass has no complaints.

“Although I’ve worked very hard over the past few months, lack of competitive practice has slowed me down. I just need to compete in a couple of events to get back to my best,” said Ashwini.

While the Athletics Federation of India was in a hurry to rope in Ashwini for the Asian Athletics championship a couple days after her ban period ended, their hopes were squashed on technical grounds.

Now, following her selection, the decks have been cleared for Ashwini’s return to international competition, a turn of events which Ashwini least expected.

“I knew I was going to be back in action, but didn’t expect myself to be back so soon, I have to thank the AFI for giving me this opportunity. I was hoping to make my comeback on the domestic circuit first.“

With Ashwini’s statemate M.R Poovamma, Tintu Luka and Anu Mariam Jose having already sealed their berths and Haryana’s Nirmala impressing with her performance in the Asian Athletics Championships earlier this month and in the trials on Friday, finding a slot for Ashwini in the current circumstances may be tough.

But that hardly seems to be a concern for Ashwini, who is firm in her opinion that there won’t be any short cuts on her comeback trail.

“I’m a part of the contingent now and that by itself is a morale booster for me. With time and improvement in my performance, I’m sure I’ll earn my place back in the team,” reasoned Ashwini.

20 Km Walk : K.T. Irfan, Gurmeet Singh, Chandan Singh, Khushbir Kaur;
50 Km Walk : Basant Bahadur Ranam, Sandeep Kumar;
Discus Throw : Vikas Gowda;
Triple Jump : Maheswari Renjith;
300m Steeple Chase: Sudha Singh;
4X400m Relay : M.R.Poovama, Tintu Luka, Nirmla, Anu Marian Jose, Ashwini Akkunji, Anilda Thomas.