51st national open athletics meet 2011

The 51st national open athletics meet has been making news for the wrong reasons so far, including the dismal performances of star athletes and inclement weather and bad venue conditions. On Monday, another farce was added to the list with the women’s 3000m steeplechase being cancelled due to lack of competition.

The cancellation meant Asian Games gold medallist Sudha Singh was denied a chance to book a spot at the London Olympics. A timing of 9:48.00 would have been enough for Sudha to achieve the B standard for the Olympics. “It happens sometimes. But I am not at all disappointed. I can look forward to next year,” Sudha said. “I was clocking 9:49.00 regularly during training. So I was 100 per cent confident of qualifying here” she said.

On their part, the organisers pleaded helplessness. “We need at least three competitors for a final. But only two Railways athletes showed up, so it had to be cancelled,” chairman of technical committee CK Valson said. Besides Sudha, only her Railways colleague Kiran Tiwari turned up for the final at the SAI Complex at Salt Lake.