Sudha Singh did not find a spot in the original 24-member squad selected by the AFI
The controversy surrounding the selection of the Indian team for the World Championships witnessed yet another twist as steeplechaser Sudha Singh saw her name in the entry list of the IAAF but the AFI ruled out her participation in the event. The 31-year-old athlete was among the three who did not find a spot in the original 24-member squad selected by the AFI.
In an interview with the PTI, Sudha said, “I just got to know that I am in the World Championships entry list. I am not yet being told by anybody from the AFI whether I have been included in the team or not. But I am ready to run in London,” and added, “I have my visa ready and so just as the AFI tells me about my participation in World Championships, I will be immediately ready to fly to London. My name was not originally included in the squad (on July 23) but I remained hopeful (that I may be included later) and so I did not take the legal route (like what P U Chitra did),” said Sudha, who represented the country in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, besides the 2015 World Championships.
In an interview with the PTI, Sudha said, “I just got to know that I am in the World Championships entry list. I am not yet being told by anybody from the AFI whether I have been included in the team or not. But I am ready to run in London,” and added, “I have my visa ready and so just as the AFI tells me about my participation in World Championships, I will be immediately ready to fly to London. My name was not originally included in the squad (on July 23) but I remained hopeful (that I may be included later) and so I did not take the legal route (like what P U Chitra did),” said Sudha, who represented the country in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, besides the 2015 World Championships.
Deputy national coach Radhakrishnan Nair, however, made it clear that she is not a part of the team.
“No, she is not taking part in the World Championships,” Nair told PTI when asked if Sudha is one of the members in the squad.
With none of the AFI officials coming on record to explain the reason, an AFI source, who did not want to be quoted, said that it could be a case of an “error”.
“It is an online entry and each country’s federation gets a password from the IAAF to enter the names of their athletes. Each Federation makes an initial entry which is usually a big number including those who are close to qualifying. Then the Federation will make a final entry, deleting/dropping those who do not make it to the squad,” the source said and added, “May be, the AFI did not delete Sudha’s name while making the final entry and that’s why her name is there in the IAAF list. It could be an error or mistake on the part of some AFI officials.”
