KOZHIKODE: Caught amidst the controversy surrounding P U Chithra, Olympian P T Usha denied allegations levelled against her in the issue of Chitra missing the chance to participate in the World Athletic Meet.
In a press conference, Usha said that she was not a member of selection committee but attended as an observer in the meeting held on July 20. She claimed that she tried to use her influence to include P U Chitra in the team but the change in regulations brought about by Athletics Federation of India made Chitra's chances slim. The AFI also said that Chitra's performance was not consistent and she did not reach the qualification mark needed for the World Athletic meet.
"I have no role in the selection. Selection of athletes to the World Athletic meet has been done by Athletics Federation for years. I attended the selection committee meeting as an observer and the duty of the observer is to find any athlete has been losing their chance. I argued for Chitra because she is an emerging athlete and she needs exposure," said Usha, addressing a press conference here.
The athletes have two routes to the World Athletics Championships. One is by making the qualification mark set by IAAF - International Association of Athletics Federations and the second one is by winning gold in the championships of
continents.
In the case of Chitra, she did not cross the qualification mark, however, she won gold in Asian championship held at Bhubaneswar.
Usha explained that according to the regulation of IAAF, the athletics federation of the country can make changes in the second criteria - of sending those who won gold in continental championships to the world meet. "The administrating body has decided to send the athletes only if their performance is near the qualification mark of the event. Chitra performance is nowhere near the qualification mark," Usha said.
She added that in spite of this, the selection committee had raised the inconsistency of performance of Chitra. " However, selection committee members pointed out the inconsistency and said that Chitra's performance is not up to international standards. I had no answers. The members were also said that World Athletic Meet is not meant for mere exposure," Usha said.