London: Renjith Maheshwary crashed out of the men’s triple jump competition at the Olympic Games after fouling all three attempts in the qualification round on Tuesday.
Maheshwary, who won a bronze in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi and finished fourth in 2006 Asian Games at Doha, failed to produce a single legal jump and was eliminated without a mark against his name.
The 26-year-old athlete, whose personal best is 17.07, thus ended his campaign on a most disappointing note.
t was indeed a shocking lack of application from Maheshwary, on whom a huge amount of money was spent for his training overseas.
Never before had an Indian athlete come to the Olympics and returned with a ‘No Mark’ against his name, raising serious questions about his fitness and form.
One of the selection committee members, who wished not to be named, told PTI that Maheshwary was not fit to compete.
“He did not take part in any competition for more than two months after mid May. He was training in Italy without taking part in any competition. I had objected to his selection but the chief coach said that he is fine.”
Maheshwary had been made to prove his fitness before the Games. (PTI)
