Reena Kumari

New Delhi: International archer Reena Kumari on Thursday alleged that the Archery Association of India (AAI) excluded her from the Beijing Olympics squad to protect a few of their favourite players.

Coming down heavily on the AAI, Reena, who represented India in the last Olympics at Athens and the Asian Games in Doha, said: “I may never be allowed to compete again but I want to make it public that how I was thrown out of the team through flawed selection process.”

Recounting her ordeal, Reena said that the archers were made to go through three trials to protect the favoured few. “I was under great pressure in the third trial, which was forced upon the archers by the AAI, and finished fifth. They pounced on that opportunity to throw me out of the team,” she said.

Reena alleged that the AAI secretary general Paresh Mukherjee’s only concern was to get Dola Banerjee in the team when the fact remained that Dola fared poorly in all the three World Cups in Santo Domingo, Croatia and Turkey.

“Dola didi is a great archer and I have nothing against her. But why drop me? After all, I did so well in the Meerut trials and was placed the best among the Indians in the World Cup at Turkey?”

Reena claimed that the trials at Calcutta were held without the presence of a single selector and even produced a letter from Mukherjee (written before the trials) that announced the selection of Reena, Dola and Bombayala Devi for Beijing.

Mukherjee, when contacted, rubbished Reena’s claims and said: “The girl lost out in the competition fair and square. Now she is making tall claims.”

Asked what prompted AAI to hold yet another four-day trial at Calcutta, Mukherjee said it was done at the behest of the AAI president Vijay Kumar Malhotra. He is an extremely honest man and wanted to be sure that the best players go to Olympics.”

Dola Banerjee, the AAI secretary general pointed out, is one of India ’s best ever female archers. “Reena, on the other hand, hasn’t done anything at the international level all these years.”