Dropped athlete 'shocked' at his fall

LUDHIANA: It''s an Olympian dream that turned sour. Ludhiana-based long-distance jumper Amrit Pal Singh, who has been dropped from the Athensbound Indian athletic squad, is "scandalised" at the manner in which he was abandoned just when he seemed close to realising his lifelong ambition. "I am shocked," stuttered the 21-year-old athlete, fumbling for right words to express his feelings."Nobody even bothered to inform me about it," says a heartbroken Amrit Pal.
Contrary to the official reason for dropping him on "fitness grounds," the lanky jumper claims to be fighting fit. He asserted that he has been touching more than 7.70 metres mark during practice at the local track. His friends and relatives, however, blame the IOA for not clearing his name.
He was the first athlete to qualify for the Olympics at Athens after breaking the 30-year-old record of TC Yohanan. His below-mark performance of 7.50 metres during senior inter-state athletic championships at Chennai in July is seen as the main reason for his exclusion.
He was about to leave for his native village Dhanar in Sangrur district when Times News Network met him at the railway quarters here. He sounded extremely disappointed with Athletics Federation of India''s secretary Lalit Bhanot who had told him "to be ready" just two weeks ago. This would have been a dream come true for the son of a retired government teacher, but now it will take quite sometime for him to recover from this blow.
"Constant improvement of performance during practice showed signs of rapid recovery even after he suffered an attack of jaundice. I told all those who matter a month ago that he was capable of hitting the peak form," asserted SS Pannu, his coach at Speed Fund Academy, which Amrit Pal joined in 1999 after clearing a distance of 6.39 metres.
The government would not have lost anything by his selection but depriving him of international exposure and experience at the most crucial juncture of his sports career has not sent the right message for others, argued Pannu.