Archer Jyothi gets wildcard for Nat'l Games

Vinayak Padmadeo

New Delhi, September 24

V Jyothi Surekha is the flagbearer of Andhra Pradesh for the 36th National Games to be held on Thursday.

After she was not included in the list of four-member team, the Games Technical Conduct Committee had issued the 26-year-old a wildcard on Friday.

The decision has left officials in the Archery Association of India (AAI) as well as the Andhra Pradesh Archery Association (APAA) in a bind.

The APAA selected the team after it finished in the top-eight of the Senior Nationals held in Jammu, in which Surekha was part of the PSPB team. Moreover, the 26-year-old, winner of numerous World Championships and World Cup medals, also did not take part in the selection trials.

The decision to issue wildcard has copped criticism from Andhra Pradesh Olympic Association (APOA) secretary RK Purushottam, who took a dig at APAA secretary Cherukuri Satyanarayana by saying he “unceasingly pesters and distresses miss Jyothi Surekha and engenders obstacles in her progress”.

A source within the AAI was also furious. “Who will answer in court if the one who is dropped approaches the court?” he said.

Purushottam insists that dropping one girl from the team was a no-brainer. “She is an eminent player and the state archery association should have kept a place reserved for Surekha,” he said.