KOCHI: P U Chitra, who struck gold in the 1,500 meter track event in the Asian Athletics Championships, on Tuesday approached Kerala High Court against her exclusion from the Indian team for the IAAF World Championships in London from August 4 to August 13.
The 22-year-old track and field athlete hailing from Mundur in Palakkad in Kerala submitted that decision of Athletic Federation of India was illegal. Considering the plea, the court issued a notice to Athletic Federation Of India by fax or e-mail through the registry of the High Court.
The petition stated that an athlete who secured first place in any area of championship automatically qualifies to represent India at the World Championship, irrespective of whether her performance has reached the entry standards in the event. The selection committee of the AFI met on July 23 and announced the list. Surprisingly the name of the petitioner was omitted from the list. The AFI cited the reason that the performance of the petitioner was not of the required standards.
According to the petition, during the Asian Athletic Championship at Bhubaneswar, there was rain on the day of her event and defying all expectations, the petitioner created history by winning the gold medal for India.
The court will consider the case on Thursday.