Dhanalakshmi gets a ticket to Tokyo

Back injury rules Poovamma out of the Indian Olympics team

The absence of the seasoned M.R. Poovamma, who won the 400m gold in five of the six meets this year, and the inclusion of Tamil Nadu’s S. Dhanalakshmi in the 4x400m mixed relay squad were the big surprises in the 26-member Indian athletics Olympics team announced on Monday. Poovamma, the 400m silver medallist with 53.54s at last week’s inter-State Nationals, was assured of a berth in the mixed 4x400m relay but surprisingly, the Karnataka athlete left the national camp and went back home. “(Her) back is bad,” Adille Sumariwalla, the Athletics Federation of India president, told The Hindu.