Kunjarani’s Olympic dream shattered; Malleswari, Chanu get selectors nod

National coach Pal Singh Sandhu and foreign coach Leonid Tararnenko of Belarus will accompany the team to Sydney, he said. The team is expected to leave for Down Under sometime after September 6 to be in time for the mandatory dope testing.

All the athletes are required to reach Sydney eight days before the commencement of their events to undergo necessary dope testing.

While medal prospect Sanamacha Chanu’s (53 kg) selection was expected, stalwart Malleswari got the nod ahead of 52 international medals winner Kunjarani.

The 21-year-old Chanu, who competed in 48 kg category in the World Championships by reducing her bodyweight, has now moved into 53 kg class with a remarkable performance. Chanu, the youngest lifter in the team, swept all the three gold medals in the last Asian Championship. But Malleshwari finds herself in a difficult situation as she has been forced to compete in the 69 kg class for the first time in her career, instead of the 63 kg section.