Include Chitra in World Athletics Championships: HC to Centre

KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Friday directed the central government and Athletic Federation of India (AFI) to ensure participation of PU Chitra at the World Athletics Championships in London next month.
Justice PB Suresh Kumar, in an interim order, directed the government, AFI and Sports Authority of India (SAI) to make all arrangements to ensure that Chitra participates in the 1,500 Metres race at the IAAF world championship.
The court also observed that the selection process for the championship appears to be not transparent and qualified athletes were ignored.
The material on record disclosed that the petitioner has been sidelined and discriminated, it observed.
Opportunities of the instant nature would come in the way of an athlete only once in a lifetime and if they miss the chance they may not get it again, it said.
"It is seen that many persons who are nowhere close to the standards fixed for the IAAF world championship have been included in the Indian team," the court said.
It observed that participation in the championship at Guntur was not the criteria for participating in the selection process and the performance there was only a ruse to exclude the petitioner and similarly placed athletes.
At any rate it cannot be said that the procedure adopted for selection was fair, it said.
If participation in the Guntur championship was mandatory for participating in the selection process for IAAF world championship, persons who have not participated in it should not have been selected, the Court said.
The case will be considered on Monday for detailed hearing.
The court had yesterday sought an explanation from the central government on the exclusion of the Kerala athlete from the Indian squad for the championships.
Hearing Chitra's petition against the decision by the AFI, Justice Suresh Kumar had asked the Centre to inform the source of funding for international events.
Chitra, who had recently won a gold in the women's 1,500m event in the Asian Athletics Championships in Bhubaneshwar, filed the petition after she was excluded from the Indian squad by the Federation.
In her plea, she said her gold medal performance at the Asian Athletics Championships made her an automatic pick for the World Championships.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had backed Chitra and said in a Facebook post that excluding the athlete, who was the "pride not only of Kerala, but also the country, from the team for World Athletics Championship, is condemnable".
Former national champion PT Usha had said that Chitra had not been included in the team as she did not meet the qualifying mark set by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).