Indian excessive jumper Tejaswin Shankar was on Friday cleared to compete on the upcoming Commonwealth Games after the organisers accepted his entry on the request of Indian Olympic Association (IOA), ending a month-long drama surrounding his participation.
The organisers had initially rejected Shankar’s late entry however the IOA has now received affirmation from the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) and Birmingham CWG organisers about acceptance of his entry after a Delegate Registration Meeting (DRM).
“Mr. Tejaswin Shankar’s entry has been approved by the CGF and accordingly accepted by the Sports Entry Department of Commonwealth Games Birmingham 2022 during the DRM,” a communication from the IOA to AFI, mentioned.
Quarter-miler M. V. Jilna, who was named within the preliminary 37-member Indian athletics workforce as 4x100m relay runner by the AFI however later withdrawn to stay to 36 athletes as allotted by the IOA, was additionally re-included within the squad.
The AFI officers had earlier instructed PTI that Jilna could be introduced again instead of Sekar Dhanalakshmi, who was caught for doping a number of days again. Dhanalakshmi was earlier named to compete in 100m and 4x100m relay.
Since Shankar’s and Jilna’s accreditation have already been accomplished, there was no drawback of their names being accepted. The last registration of the athletes is completed on the DRM and it’s virtually unimaginable to make any adjustments after that.
The CGF mentioned it reviewed IOA’s Late Athlete Replacement Request (LAR) in session with World Athletics and permitted Shankar’s entry.
The CGF mentioned the request was made earlier than LAR deadline for athletics and was for the substitute of an athlete in an “open allocation sport”. It additionally mentioned that the incoming athlete (Shankar) has an permitted visa and was registered on IOA’s Athlete Accreditation Long List.
“The request is not for a like-for-like athlete replacement (same sport, discipline and event) as required in the CGF LAR policy. Th evidence/documentation provided including the outcomes of the legal proceedings shared justifies a LAR and has been approved by the international federation.
“CGA India (IOA) has confirmed that the athlete to be withdrawn is unfit to compete and therefore the approval of this LAR will not result in an appeal from that athlete.
“It is recognised that while this LAR application is not a like-for-like athlete replacement, the CGF acknowledges the extenuating/extraordinary circumstances for the application and all other required conditions have been met. On this basis… this LAR is approved.” IOA Secretary General Rajeev Mehta mentioned that his organisation had pursued the matter strongly.
“We pursued it strongly and requested the CGF to have a re-look,” Mehta instructed PTI.
But, it was a U-turn on the a part of the organisers as they’d on July 7 knowledgeable the IOA that “late athlete replacements (LAR) will only be permitted to compete in events in which the original athlete was entered”.
“The CGF in consultation with the relevant International Federation and CGF Medical Commission may approve a permanent replacement of an athlete by another eligible athlete only in the same sport and discipline and event(s) where there are extenuating/extraordinary circumstances (e.g., medical circumstances, Anti-Doping rule violations and appeals) that may prevent the participation of an athlete in Birmingham 2022,” the CWG organisers had mentioned.
“Unfortunately, as this falls under a disqualification rather than a Medical Circumstance, this request will not be able to be approved. LAR isn’t a tool for replacement based on team selection”.
The 23-year-old Shankar had petitioned the Delhi High Court after he was not chosen for the CWG regardless of attaining the qualifying normal set by the AFI.
The nationwide federation later instructed the Delhi High Court that Shankar has been included within the Indian athletics workforce instead of 4x400m relay workforce member Arokia Rajiv, who was named within the authentic squad.
Initially, the AFI had requested the IOA to extend its quota to accommodate extra athletes. The IOA, in flip, had requested the CWG organisers on this regard.
Shankar had filed a petition on the Delhi High Court difficult the choice of the AFI to exclude him from the workforce, contending that he reached the qualification tips of the AFI by leaping 2.27m on the NCAA Championships within the U.S., the place he’s finding out.
Source: www.thehindu.com