Khatua's Olympic omission shrouded in secrecy

Shot putter Abha Khatua wanted to pursue her Olympic dream despite a recent family tragedy. However, she is now missing from India's Paris-bound contingent, and there is no clear answer as to why her name has been removed from the list.

Khatua left for Spala in Turkiye, the base for India's Olympic-bound athletics team, on July 11 with her teammates.

However, the very next day, her name was not on the list of track and field Olympic participants published by World Athletics. She is 29 years old and holds the national record, and she earned her place in the Paris Games through the world rankings quota.

Despite this, she did not make it into the Indian contingent of 117 approved by the sports ministry.

The track and field team now has 29 members instead of the 30 announced by the Athletics Federation of India. The reason for her absence has not been disclosed. Attempts to reach her have been unsuccessful, and there is no official explanation for her removal from the team.

An Athletics Federation of India official stated that the AFI was not aware of any issue with her. When contacted, a World Athletics official also refused to comment on the issue, saying that World Athletics does not disclose specific details about individual selection decisions.

Born to a farmer father in Khurshi village near Narayangarh town in West Bengal, Khatua decided to focus on shot put five years ago. Just before leaving India on July 11, she spoke about her excitement at making her Olympic debut despite the recent death of her sister-in-law.

She was determined to fulfill her dream and make her parents proud despite the family tragedy.

Khatua's journey to the Olympics was not straightforward. She had performed well at the Federation Cup in April, breaking the national record with a throw of 18.41m, but she was still outside the qualification bracket.

Her performance at the National Inter-State Championships helped her improve her ranking and secure a spot at the Paris Games. However, less than 10 days before the Games, she was suddenly dropped from the team without any explanation.

Khatua's exclusion from the Asian Games last year, despite her strong performances, also lacked any clear explanation.