Jauna Murmu shattered after being 'dropped' from Rio squad

Bhubaneswar: While six women from Odisha have booked their berths for the Olympics scheduled to kick off at Rio de Janeiro in Brazil from August 5, Jauna Murmu, another promising woman sprinter of the state, is shattered after being left out of the 4X400 meter relay squad despite qualifying for the event.

“I was selected for the Rio Olympics in 4X400 metre relay event. I had qualified for this event in two international meets in Turkey and Poland. After participating in these two events, I had returned with the team to Hyderabad from where we had gone to Bangalore for training. Till that period, I was in the national team. I do not know how the selectors excluded my name from the team in the final selection. I had to return home after I was asked to leave the camp,” a distraught Jauna told OTV today.

Though the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has not made official announcement of the team, reliable sources said Jauna is no more in the team.

Alleging that she had become the victim of a conspiracy, a disappointed Jauna has requested the state government to immediately intervene in the matter.

Asked about the reason for Jauna’s exclusion from the national team, Radhakrishnana Nayar, foreign expert of AFI, said several influential persons are involved in matters of selection of athletes, . “We don’t have any power in such matters as we work as ordinary servants under them,” he told OTV over phone.

Notably, six women from Odisha have qualified for Rio Olympics.

While Dutee Chand has qualified to participate in the 100-metre run, Srabani has qualified for 200-metre run event. Both the sprinters have also qualified for 4X100-metre relay race.

Besides, four hockey players of the state—Deep Grace Ekka, Namita Toppo, Lilima Minz and Sunita Lakra—have found place in the Indian women’s hockey team for the mega event.