Chithra filed a petition in the Kerala High Court on Tuesday challenging her exclusion from the Indian team for the World championship to be held in London next month. She was not named in the squad announced by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) on Sunday. She contended that she had qualified for the meet by winning gold in the 1500m at the Asian championship in Bhubaneswar earlier this month. “By winning the gold, she should have won a place in the team and her timing or form should not have mattered at all,” Chithra’s coach N.S. “The AFI should actually be encouraging athletes like Chithra; she comes from a very humble background and both her parents are daily-wage labourers,” he said.

Source: The Hindu July 25, 2017 14:37 UTC