NEW DELHI: A day after the ruling of the Kerala High court, Union Sports Minister Vijay Goel advised the Athletic Federation of India (AFI) to ensure the participation of P U Chitra in 1,500 Mts race in the IAAF World Championships to be held in London from August 4. The Kerala High Court on Friday directed the Centre to ensure the participation of PU Chitra in the World Athletics Championships.
Officials of the Sports ministry said that 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 P U Chitra is otherwise a wild card entry for the World Championship.
Chitra, who recently won a gold in the women's 1500m event in the Asian Athletics Championships in Bhubaneshwar, had 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 P T 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 (IAAF).