A day after condemning homosexuality,Russian pole vault great Yelena Isinbayeva appeared to back off from her critical words Friday by saying her comments in English may have been misunderstood. The two-time Olympic gold medallist supported Russias new anti-gay law on Thursday and criticized two Swedish competitors for their rainbow-colored fingernails in support of gay rights. English is not my first language and I think I may have been misunderstood when I spoke yesterday. What I wanted to say was that people should respect the laws of other countries particularly when they are guests, Isinbayeva said in a statement issued through local organizers of the world championships. I respect the views of my fellow athletes and let me state in the strongest terms that I am opposed to any discrimination against gay people. On Thursday,Isinbayeva said: If we allow to promote and do all this stuff on the street,we are very afraid about our nation because we consider ourselves like normal,standard people. We just live with boys with women,women with boys. End of Worlds for India Triple jumper Renjith Maheswary flopped yet again in a big event as he failed to qualify for the final round to mark a disappointing end to Indias World Championships campaign on Friday. Maheswary finished sixth in Group A qualification round and 13th overall with a best jump of 16.63 metres,which was well short of his national record of 17.07m and his seasons best of 16.98m. Those who could clear 17.05m or at least 12 best performers qualify for the final round. The last qualifier,Gaetan Saku Bafuanga Baya of France also cleared 16.63m but he made to the final round on countback as his second best jump (16.37m) was better than that of Maheswary (16.28m). Maheswary,who has been recommended for this years Arjuna Award,has been criticised as a choker in big events. He began with a disappointing 16.08m and cleared 16.63m in his second attempt before a 16.28m in his last jump. In the womens 4x400m relay,the Indian quartet also failed to qualify for the final round as they finished last in the five-team heat number one and 14th overall to bring curtains on Indias campaign.
