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The Birmingham Commonwealth Games (CWG) Organizing Committee has turned down a request from the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to enhance the quota for the Athletics Federation of India (AFI), a senior official of the IOA said on Thursday.
Each discipline has been allotted a specific quota by the CWG Organizing Committee. The AFI has been allotted 36 quota places, but the national governing body in athletics has shortlisted as many as 41 athletes for the Commonwealth Games.
The latest development could spoil the chances of high jumper Tejaswin Shankar. He had gone to Delhi High Court as he wasn’t selected despite achieving the Commonwealth Games qualification standard of 2.27m in Eugene on June 10.
The AFI had said that Shankar didn’t compete in the mandatory National Interstate Athletics Championships held in Chennai from June 10 to 12. This event was meant to select the team for the Commonwealth Games. However, Shankar claimed that he was exempted from the Chennai competition.
Tejaswin Shankar's efforts to enter Indian squad for Commonwealth Games 2022
Since Shankar was excluded from the Indian squad, he filed a petition in court. The AFI legal team informed the court that they could include Shankar in the team provided IOA grants additional quota places.
Initially, the AFI was allotted 36 quota places. The AFI legal team to the court said that Shankar will be considered for the 2022 CWG if the quota of 36 athletes is increased by the IOA.
In a hearing last week, the court expressed optimism that the IOA would increase the national track and field quota to accommodate additional athletes, including Shankar on the national team.
“We have apprised the AFI that there is no possibility of additional quota places for athletics team,” the IOA official said. “The AFI has all the right to make adjustments within the allotted quota places.”
Army marathon runners Srinu Bugatha and Anish Thapa have also qualified for the CWG but weren’t shortlisted in the final 36-member team. Nitendra Singh Rawat was the only marathon runner included in the national team for Birmingham. The next hearing of the matter is on July 4.
