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What's the story?
A day after the Sports Ministry gave its approval for the 325 members Indian contingent for the CWG, the IOA continued to make revisions to the list, which led to confusion over the participation of 4 athletes.
Asian Championship medallist, Jinson Johnson's name is missing from the men's 1500m entry list, while the 4x400 relay squad member, Arokia Rajiv is missing from the ministry's list, despite being part of the IOA's list. On the other hand, GK Vijayakumari and high jumper Siddharth Yadav's names are present on the ministry's list but absent on that of the IOA's.
In case you didn't know...
The Commonwealth Games, also known as the Gold Coast 2018 is about a week away from commencing on the 4th of April. The multi-sport event, being held in Gold Coast, Australia will continue until the 15th of April.
The heart of the matter
The prevailing confusion over the fate of these athletes has left them hoping for the best as they wait for a clarification. The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has clarified to Sportskeeda that the names of the athletes are indeed missing on the ministry's list, but there might be a possibility that the list sent was an old one, therefore, leading to the confusion.
However, despite the reason being unknown, it is a surety that the names are not part of the ministry's list. The participation of these athletes may be in doubt as they are yet to get a clarification from their organisers. The AFI, though, has informed the IOA and the Sports Ministry about the exclusion of these athletes, something that the three parties are trying to sort out.
What's next?
A final nod of approval is expected by the organisers on Tuesday, so it is yet to be seen whether these athletes get the go ahead or not.
Author's take
With barely a week to go for the Commonwealth Games, confusion and controversy seem to be a never-ending part of the Indian contingent. Here's hoping all matters are resolved before the Games start.
