A major officiating lapse overshadowed the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar.
After Tamil Nadu hurdler Harshitha was denied a place in the women’s 400m hurdles final following a missing hurdle on her lane during the heats. The championships are serving as an important selection event for the upcoming Asian Games.
Harshitha clocked a personal best of 1:01.03 seconds to finish third in her heat on Friday, seemingly securing automatic qualification for the final. However, her race took an unexpected turn when she found that the fifth hurdle in Lane 8 had not been placed. Forced to react instantly, she briefly crossed into the adjacent lane to clear its hurdle before returning to her own lane and completing the race.
Officials later confirmed that Lane 8 had been set up with only nine hurdles instead of the required 10. Harshitha’s result was subsequently annulled, and she was asked to compete in a solo re-run on Saturday morning. To qualify for the final, she needed to better 1:02.00 seconds.
Running without competitors alongside her after already racing the previous evening, the 18-year-old clocked 1:02.54 seconds, missing the qualifying standard and ending her campaign.
The decision has triggered criticism, with many questioning why the athlete was required to pay the price for an error in race setup. Harshitha, who won the 400m hurdles title at the India Open U-23 Championships last year, said she was also held responsible for crossing into the neighbouring lane during the race.
“The officials said it was my fault too, as I cleared the adjacent lane’s hurdle yesterday,” she told NNIS Sports.
The incident has cast a shadow over the championships and sparked debate over athlete welfare and accountability, with critics arguing that a technical error by organisers should not have jeopardised an athlete’s chances at a major selection event.
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