Anju competing? Er8230; sorry!

The long jump event of the 33rd National Games was the main attraction for the holiday crowd.

The long jump event of the 33rd National Games was the main attraction for the holiday crowd. And the talk of the town was bib number 762 in the start list, handed out by the Games Technical Conduct Committee GTCC.

Anju Bobby George, India8217;s biggest athlete, and who had withdrawn from the event, was here after all! Or is this all another in those long-list of goof-ups that had become synonymous with this Games?

The complete list of athletes given by the GTCC also showed the ace long jumper8217;s name. 8220;But that is quite possible,8221; said Ravinder Chaudhury a member of the technical committee of the Athletic Federation of India AFI officiating the Games here. 8220;This list is prepared based on the entries given by their respective states so if the state has sent her entry she should be here,8221; he added.

So far so good. But what about the starting list handed out at the beginning of the day? The start list is usually prepared after the athletes8217; confirm their participation one day in advance. 8220;That means Anju is participating,8221; Ravinder reiterated.

But talking to The Indian Express from Bangalore, Anju cleared the confusion. 8220;This is some mistake. Perhaps they have gone by the entries that the state association sent to them in advance. I am very much in Bangalore and doing light practice.8221;

In an earlier conversation Anju had said that she would not participate in the National Games as she needed rest to recuperate after a hectic schedule last year. Anju participated in the Commonwealth and the Doha Asian Games besides many indoor and outdoor meets in the European circuit. Though the Athletic Federation of India secretary Lalit Bhanot tried to make her change her decision, Anju stuck to her guns and opted out in order to prepare for the coming season.

In the end, it turned out just as expected. Another goof-up by the officials created an artificial excitement and a tame ending.

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Anju wasn8217;t there and JJ Shobha of Andhra Pradesh jumped to 5.98m in her third attempt to fetch gold.