WILL TAKE ‘ACTION’ IF SHOWING BAD: ATHLETICS FED’S TOKYO TWIST

TOKYO: The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) on Friday threatened action against all those who do not perform well in the Olympics after deciding not to pull out long jumper M Sreeshankar and 20km race walker KT Irfan from the Games despite a dip in their form.

AFI’S selection committee, in an emergency meeting, arrived at a “unanimous decision” to not pull the two athletes out of the 26-member squad.

Despite the strong opinion from some members that both should be withdrawn after they under-performed in the trials in Bengaluru, the committee noted that the federation had called the trials to assess fitness and not form. AFI President Adille Sumariwalla said the coaches of both the athletes had been spoken to about their lacklustre form in the trials.

“The coaches have promised that their respective athletes would give their best in Tokyo. Sreeshankar’s father and coach have assured of good performance from his athlete. If athletes do not perform well in the Olympics, we will take action against them,” he said, asserting that the message is meant for all those who are on the flight to Tokyo.

During a fitness trial held on Wednesday at the SAI Centre in Bengaluru, Sreeshankar’s best jump was 7.48m, a far cry from the 8.26m he had come up during the Federation Cup in March to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.

To be sure, athletes would not attempt their best jumps at a fitness trial, simply to avoid any injuries. Irfan, who underwent a fitness trial on July 9, was the first track and field athlete to qualify for the Olympics way back in March 2019 during the Asian Race Walking Championships in Nomi, Japan.