Disappointing show by Neelam

This leaves the field entirely open to the only remaining Indian participant, Anju Bobby George, who won a bronze in Paris two years ago. But Anju’s fans back home will have to endure a two-day wait — the long jump qualifiers are scheduled for Tuesday— to know her fate.

Pitted in the first group of 11 discus throwers, Neelam started with a 56.70 metres before ending at 53.07 with a foul in the second.

The end came swiftly and so surely that she was pushed to the ninth spot. To claim a spot in the finals, Neelam needed to heave 61 metres but both her legal throws were way off the mark. At 34, it looks Neelam is past her prime. In fact, she had been struggling for fitness and that proved to be her Achilles’ heel here today.

Admitting the lack of fitness, Neelam said that her recurring back injury had posed problems in the past year as well as recently. It’s also something to do with her overweight. She had said she needed to shed about five kilos. Neelam was off training for a while before beginning it in Ukraine a week before Helsinki. She said she was off weight training but in Ukraine she tried a bit and that had posed the problems.

And today she had a strap around her waist as she entered the ring. She put her best effort in the first but fouled in the second before going for an all out effort in the last. ‘‘I was completely not doing any dead lift but in Ukraine I tried to regain fitness. The injury seems to have aggravated and that has not helped me. Moreover, I had problem with my swing and heave today. They didn’t go as well as I would have liked. It was greatly disappointing.”