HC seeks explanation from Centre on Chitra's exclusion

Kochi: The High Court Thursday sought an explanation from the central government regarding the exclusion of athlete P U Chitra from the Indian squad for the World Athletics Championships in London next month.

Hearing Chitras petition against the decision by Athletics Federation of India (AFI), Justice P B Suresh Kumar asked the Centre to inform the source of funding for international events. The judge also directed the Centre to inform by tomorrow who was controlling the AFI and wanted to know about the role of the AFI and the Sports Authority of India (SAI).

Chitra, who recently won a gold in the womens 1500m 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.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had backed Chitra and said in a Facebook post that excluding the athlete, who was "pride not only of Kerala but also the country, from the team for World Athletics Championship is condemnable".

Former national champion P T Usha had Wednesday 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 (IAAF).