London Olympics 2012: Coe says ‘mystery woman’ cast member of opening ceremony

London Games organisers last night in protest against the incident even as media reports claimed to have identified the “mystery woman”.

Coe sought to cool down the frayed tempers among the Indians,saying that he would meet with the Indian delegation to discuss the matter.

“She was a cast member who clearly got slightly overexcited. She shouldn’t have been there,” Coe said.

Coe insisted that the unidentified woman posed no danger to the Indian team or the proceedings because,as a cast member for the opening ceremony,she had to go through all the security checks that everyone else does to get into the Olympic Stadium.

“She shouldn’t have been in the opening ceremony. But don’t run away with the idea that she walked in off the street,” he said.

A day after photos of the ‘mystery woman’ appeared in newspapers and went viral on social networking sites,a newspaper claimed to have identified the young lady as Madhura Honey,a post-graduate from Bangalore.

Deccan Chronicle,quoting sources,said that her friend from the college was also baffled seeing her with the Indian contingent. She has been living in London and before she went with the Indian team,she had displayed her Olympic passes on her Facebook account. But once this became an issue,she had deactivated her Facebook account.

Raja had earlier said that the Indian contingent would wait for an official confirmation about the identity of the woman.

“I am also aware of these reports. But I can’t comment on newspaper reports. We want something from the organisers. We have submitted the letter expressing our strong resentment on the matter to the organisers last night,” Raja said.

The young lady in red shirt and blue trouser was seen leading the Indian contingent in the march past alongside Beijing Games bronze medallist Sushil Kumar and her unwanted presence has not gone down well with the Indians,who had no clue as to who she was.

The Indians are understandably agitated that a person who was not part of the delegation was allowed to accompany the team and hog the limelight in the process.

“She had no business to walk with the Indian contingent and we are taking up the issue with the organisers. We don’t know who she is and why she was allowed to walk in. It is a shame that she was with the athletes in the march past,” Raja had said on Saturday.

“We were initially told that she would accompany the contingent till the track but she went on to take the entire lap. There was another man also but he stayed back and did not enter the stadium.

“We have taken strong exception to this. The march past is for the athletes and officials attached to the contingent. We are totally taken by surprise how a person could just intrude into the track,” he added.

The lady’s presence had created a flutter on the day of the opening ceremony itself and the Indian mediamen covering the Games had sought clarification from the team management.

The Indians have fielded 81 athletes,the largest ever in the history of the Games,but only 40 athletes and around 11 officials participated in the parade at the opening ceremony,which showcased Great Britain’s rich heritage combined with dazzling fireworks and stunning visual effects.

London organisers looking into “mystery” woman issue: Coe

London Olympic Games organisers today said that they were “looking into” the issue of an unidentified woman’s presence in the Indian contingent during the march past at the Opening Ceremony,a development which has not only left the Indians angry but has generated a big controversy back home.

The Indian contingent has submitted a letter to the organisers expressing their resentment over the incident even as media reports claimed to have identified the “mystery” woman who hogged the limelight at the ceremony.

LOGOC Chairman Sir Sebastian Coe said he is aware of the incident and the organisers will look into the case.

“I was told about it. She sort of made it into the Opening Ceremony. There is a very important point to take into consideration here. I don’t minimize the fact that she got in Opening Ceremony. We will have our own discussion about that,”

Coe said at a press conference here.

“She could not have got into the Olympic Park without having gone through our security protocols. They seem to have run away with the idea that she just walked of the street and onto the Opening Ceremony. We are looking into it. She should not have been there,” Coe said.

The Indians have submitted a letter on this embarassing issue to the organisers last night and Acting Chef de Mission Brig P K Muralidharan Raja said that no response has come yet.

“We have submitted the letter expressing our strong resentment on the matter to the organisers last night. We are still waiting for their response,” Raja said.

A day after photos of the “mystery woman” appeared in newspapers and went cyber on social networking sites,a newspaper claimed to have identified the young lady as Madhura Honey,a post-graduate from Bangalore.

Deccan Chronicle,quoting sources,said that her friend from the college was also baffled seeing her with the Indian contingent. She has been living in London and before she went with the Indian team,she had displayed her Olympic passes on her Facebook account. But once this became an issue,she had deactivated her Facebook account.

The Indian contingent,however,was willing to wait for an official confirmation about the identity of the person.

“I am also aware of these reports. But I can comment on newspaper reports. We want something from the organisers,” he said.

The young lady in red shirt and blue trouser was seen leading the Indian contingent in the march past alongside Beijing bronze-medal winner sushil Kumar and her unwanted presence has not gone down well with the Indians who had no clue as to who she was.

The Indians are understandably agitated that a person who was not part of the delegation was allowed to accompany the team and hog the limelight in the process.

“She had no business to walk in with the Indian contingent and we are taking up the issue with the organisers. We don’t know who she is and why she was allowed to walk in.

It is a shame that she was with the athletes in the march past,” Raja had said yesterday.

The lady’s presence had created a flutter on the day of the openign ceremony itself and the Indian mediamen covering the Games had sought clarification from the team management.

The Indians have fielded 81 athletes,the largest ever in the history of the Games,but only 40 athletes and around 11 officials participated in the parade at the opening ceremony which showcased Great Britain’s rich heritage combined with dazzlinf fireworks and stunning visual effects.

Mystery woman identified; Indian contingent still clueless

The Indian contingent is still awaiting a communication from the Olympic Games organisers on how an unidentified lady was allowed to gatecrash into the team’s march past at the Opening Ceremony even as media reports claimed to have identified the “mystery woman”.

The Indians have submitted a letter on this embarrassing issue to the organisers last night and acting Chef-de-Mission Brig P K Muralidharan Raja said that no response has come yet.

“We have submitted the letter expressing our strong resentment on the matter to the organisers last night. We are still waiting for their response,” Raja said..

A day after photos of the ‘mystery woman’ appeared in newspapers and went viral on social networking sites,a newspaper claimed to have identified the young lady as Madhura Honey,a post-graduate from Bangalore.

Deccan Chronicle,quoting sources,said that her friend from the college was also baffled seeing her with the Indian contingent. She has been living in London and before she went with the Indian team,she had displayed her Olympic passes on her Facebook account. But once this became an issue,she had deactivated her Facebook account.

The Indian contingent,however,was willing to wait for an official confirmation about the identity of the person.

“I am also aware of these reports. But I can’t comment on newspaper reports. We want something from the organisers,” Raja said.

The Indians are understandably agitated that a person who was not part of the delegation was allowed to accompany the team and hog the limelight in the process.

“She had no business to walk with the Indian contingent and we are taking up the issue with the organisers. We don’t know who she is and why she was allowed to walk in. It is a shame that she was with the athletes in the march past,” Raja had said on Saturday.

“We were initially told that she would accompany the contingent till the track but she went on to take the entire lap. There was another man also but he stayed back and did not enter the stadium.”

“We have taken strong exception to this. The march past is for the athletes and officials attached to the contingent. We are totally taken by surprise how a person could just intrude into the track,” he added.

The lady’s presence had created a flutter on the day of the opening ceremony itself and the Indian mediamen covering

the Games had sought clarification from the team management.

The Indians have fielded 81 athletes,the largest ever in the history of the Games,but only 40 athletes and around 11 officials participated in the parade at the opening ceremony,which showcased Great Britain’s rich heritage combined with dazzling fireworks and stunning visual effects.

The Indian men wore traditional blazers and Rajasthani yellow turbans while the female athletes wore yellow sarees.