"We have submitted the letter expressing our strong resentment on the matter to the organisers last night. We are still waiting for their response," Raja told PTI here. A day after photos of the `mystery woman` appeared in newspapers and went viral on social networking sites, a newspaper claimed to have identified the young lady as Madhura Honey, a post-graduate from Bangalore.
Deccan Chronicle, quoting sources, said that her friend from the college was also baffled seeing her with the Indian contingent. She has been living in London and before she went with the Indian team, she had displayed her Olympic passes on her Facebook account. But once this became an issue, she had deactivated her Facebook account.
The Indian contingent, however, was willing to wait for an official confirmation about the identity of the person. "I am also aware of these reports. But I can`t comment on newspaper reports. We want something from the organisers," Raja said. The young lady in red shirt and blue trouser was seen leading the Indian contingent in the march past alongside Beijing Games bronze medallist Sushil Kumar and her unwanted presence has not gone down well with the Indians, who had no clue as to who she was.
The Indians are understandably agitated that a person who was not part of the delegation was allowed to accompany the team and hog the limelight in the process. "She had no business to walk with the Indian contingent and we are taking up the issue with the organisers. We don`t know who she is and why she was allowed to walk in. It is a shame that she was with the athletes in the march past," Raja had said on Saturday.
"We were initially told that she would accompany the contingent till the track but she went on to take the entire lap. There was another man also but he stayed back and did not enter the stadium. We have taken strong exception to this. The march past is for the athletes and officials attached to the contingent. We are totally taken by surprise how a person could just intrude into the track," he added. The lady`s presence had created a flutter on the day of the opening ceremony itself and the Indian mediamen covering the Games had sought clarification from the team management.
The Indians have fielded 81 athletes, the largest ever in the history of the Games, but only 40 athletes and around 11 officials participated in the parade at the opening ceremony, which showcased Great Britain`s rich heritage combined with dazzling fireworks and stunning visual effects. The Indian men wore traditional blazers and Rajasthani yellow turbans while the female athletes wore yellow sarees.