Shot putter Abha Khatua and curious case of missing Olympic aspirant

Shot putter Abha Khatua had decided to pursue her Olympic dream despite a family tragedy recently but the national record-holder is missing from India's Paris-bound contingent and as of now, there is no clear answer as to why her name has been knocked off the list.

Khatua left the country for Spala in Turkiye, the base for India's Olympic-bound athletics contingent, on July 11 along with her other team-mates. But the very next day, she was not there in the list of track and field Olympic participants published by World Athletics.

The 29-year-old, who made the Paris Games cut through the world rankings quota, eventually did not figure in the Indian contingent of 117 approved by the sports ministry.

The track and field team now has 29 members, instead of the 30 who were announced by the Athletics Federation of India.

There is no word yet on whether her name has been dropped owing to injury, a doping violation or any other technical issue. Repeated attempts to reach her have been ...