Two weeks after confirming that she would be running in the IAAF Continental Cup in Morocco this month, sprinter M.R. Poovamma has now changed her mind.
The 400m runner, who was adjudged as the best woman athlete at the recent Federation Cup in Patiala, was one of the three stars the Athletics Federation of India had confirmed for the Continental Cup, known as the World Cup earlier the others being women’s middle distance runner Tintu Luka and men’s triple jumper Renjith Maheswary.
Commonwealth Games discus throw gold medallist Vikas Gowda and triple jump bronze medallist Arpinder Singh, both Asian leaders in their respective events this season who gained Continental Cup berths, had pulled out of the two-day championship earlier.
“I didn’t want to go…wanted to give more importance for the Asian Games,” said Poovamma on Monday.
The Continental Cup, in Marrakech on September 13 and 14, comes very close to the Asian Games which begins in Incheon, Korea, on September 19.
While announcing the team for the Asian Games recently, the AFI had asked the three relay teams to undergo a final trial in Patiala on September 15 and this could be another reason for Poovamma’s withdrawal from the Morocco event.
Asian silver medallist Poovamma, from Karnataka, is currently the country’s fastest one-lap runner and among the best in Asia this season and a crucial member of the 4x400m relay squad.
