Sports Minister Vijay Goel has advised the Athletics Federation of India to honour the Kerala High Court directive on PU Chitra to ensure her participation in the upcoming IAAF World Championships. The Kerala High Court, yesterday, directed the central government to ensure participation of Chitra in the World Athletics Championships in London next month, reported PTI.
“Goel talked to AFI President Adille Sumariwalla on the issue and advised him not to contest the directive given by the Kerala High Court as PU Chitra is otherwise a wild card entry for the World Championship,” the sports ministry said in a statement. She competes in the 1,500 metres race.
Chitra, who recently won a gold in the women’s 1500-metre event in the Asian Athletics Championships in Bhubaneshwar, filed the writ petition after she was excluded from the Indian squad by the federation. In her plea, Chitra said her gold medal performance at the Asian Athletics Championships made her an automatic pick for the World Championships.
The court also observed that the selection process for the championship appears to be not transparent and qualified athletes were ignored. 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 International Association of Athletics Federations.
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