The Mumbai girl has been preparing for the forthcoming Asian Games in the under-67kg category for over a year now and has been a part of all the selection camps.
Sandhya Shetty, a model-turned-actress is also a Karateka (an expert in Karate). The Mumbai girl has been preparing for the forthcoming Asian Games in the under-67kg category for over a year now and has been a part of all the selection camps.
However, she was not included in the 45-day final preparatory camp which was held in Chennai in the month of September and consequently was not selected for the Asian Games. “I was not informed about the last camp. The federation should have given me a written intimation but they faltered,” she said. Sandhya feels that she would go to the court if necessary.
Sandhya said the selection had been biased and Simi Batala, the other probable who was selected in her place, made it to the Games because of favouritism. She had defeated Simi in every bout they had met, the recent one being the National Championships held in Chennai this year, where she outplayed Simi in the first round itself. In the last training camp which was held in July-August, Sandhya managed to get the better of Simi in the deciding bout.
Sandhya filed a written complaint with the joint secretary of the sports ministry, Injetti Srinivas and also with the president of the Maharashtra Karate Association (MKA), Vispy Kapadia.
On being asked about the selection process, the general secretary of the All India Karate Do Federation (AIKF), Bharat Sharma told DNA that a unanimous decision had been made by the committee to choose Simi in place of Sandhya. “The selection was made by two national and one international coach. Sandhya beating Simi in a bout is not the only criteria for selection. We take into consideration the overall performance, stamina level, age factor, coaches’ report, the international experience a player has, etc. We also see who has a better chance of winning a medal. Speed, endurance and consistency also matter,” said Sharma.
On the other hand, Sandhya insisted that Simi had been selected as she was under the affiliation of the general secretary of the AIKF. She also insisted she was the sole candidate representing the state but her state association itself did not support her on this issue. The general secretary of the MKA, Sensei Sharif Bapu said that the State association did not have any hand in the selection process.
Sandhya’s coach Sensei Sallaudin Ansari said that he was not aware of why she had not been selected. “She is a good student but I do not know what happened during the selections.”
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