The 53rd Open National athletics championship has seen non-medal winners receiving the medals!
This was noticed on the opening day when 400m hurdler Joseph Abraham did not turn up to accept his bronze medal. Instead, his teammate was asked to collect it.
When queried, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) secretary, C.K. Valson, told The Hindu that Abraham was held up at the doping centre.
This was repeated on Monday in the men’s shot put and javelin award ceremonies. Shot put gold medal winner Om Prakash Singh wasn’t present as he had left for home. The Jharkhand Athletic Association president Madhukant Pathak blamed the team managers for sending a ‘dummy’ to the ceremony.
Valson said he would look into the issue and ensure no such incidents happened on the final day.
