Wushu athlete axed at the eleventh hour, cries foul, but the Association says she is not fit

“I am forced to say this. I am being mentally harassed from June to September. I defeated her (Naorem) in trials. Then why is there a problem? I never got an opportunity to put my point of view across to the association. Doctors have declared me fit enough to play and yet the association did not inform me before I was dropped. I wanted to wear the India jersey and win gold for India,” Divyanshi said in the video posted on social media on Friday.

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Divyanshi’s father Sunil Kumar Sunda, a retired Indian Army Naik, said an MRI was done at a private hospital in Patiala prior to the MRI done on the recommendation of SAI.

Divyanshi Choudhary (first from left) with other judo players during the official send-off ceremony in Delhi earlier this week. (Special arrangement)

As per the documents assessed by The Indian Express, Divyanshi’s MRI scan of left knee done at the private diagnostic centre in Patiala based on SAI recommendation on August 23, a day after the official list of athletes for the Asian Games was sanctioned by the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs, states that she suffers from a Grade 1 signal posterior horn medial meniscus and a partial to high-grade ACL tear. The medical report prepared Dr Jahanvi Dande, High Performance Director, Sports Medicine, SAI, posted at NIS Patiala, dated August 27, states that the MRI report reveals a partial to high-grade ACL tear. The athlete is advised rehab, regular follow up and is to refrain from competitive/full training till her recovery, the SAI medical report said.

When contacted, Wushu Association of India president Jitender Singh Bajwa dismissed Divyanshi’s allegations of biased selection. “She is injured. She skipped national camp for the last 15 days. She told us about her injury, and the SAI doctors diagnosed it and concluded she needed rest,” Bajwa said.

However, Devyanshi’s father Sunda told The Indian Express: “The doctor (at the private hospital) said that it’s an ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) tear in her knee. But the doctor said she can practice and compete if she wears taping,” Sunda said. WAI has named Naorem, who had lost in the final trials in the semis to Choudhary, as replacement with the second placed Himani of Chandigarh stated injured by WAI and not eligble to go as reserve in place.