Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Tuesday wrote to the Union minister of Sports batting for Jauna Murmu, the promising woman Odia sprinter who was excluded from the Rio Olympic despite qualifying for the grand event in 4X400 metre relay event.
Asking about the grounds on which Murmu has been left out from the Rio-bound relay squad, Odisha Sports minister Sudam Marandi has requested his counterpart at the Centre to find an early resolution of the matter.
"She is not a novice. She has participated in many international events, including the Commonwealth games. Her ouster from Rio Olympic is injustice. So, I requested the Union minister to consider our plea at the earliest", Marandi said.
Murmu on Tuesday met various officials in the Secretariat and lodged his complaint with the minister at his residence.
A visibly shattered Jauna said she is hopeful that the state government will do its bit to help her. "I met the minister and secretaries and they have assured me of all support. I also hope so as the Olympics is coming closer," she said.
Earlier, she had narrated her ordeal before OTV. “I was selected for the Rio Olympics in the 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,” she had said alleging that she had become the victim of a conspiracy.