Why Is Record-Holding Shot Putter Abha Khatua Absent From Olympic List?

Shot putter Abha Khatua had qualified for the Paris Games 2024 in June 2024 but her name was allegedly removed from the final list without a clear explanation. The record-setting athlete decided to pursue her Olympic dream despite a recent family tragedy after the World Athletics selected her through the World Ranking quota; However, she did not figure in the Indian contingent of 117 athletes approved by the sports ministry.

While the Indian Olympic Association has not commented on the issue, an anonymous source told the Times of India that the 29-year-old athlete did not meet the World Athletics' Difference of Sex Development (DSD) regulations to qualify for the women's classification. Sources told the publication that Khatua was asked to return from Spala, Poland, where a group of Indian athletes had recently landed for their preparations for the Olympics. 

Who Is Abha Khatua?

Abha Khatua, who belongs to Khurshi village near Narayangarh, West Bengal, began her journey in the game in 2018. She moved to Maharashtra in 2019 for work and switched from glide to rotation technique in 2022. She received her first significant break in the shot put when she was enrolled at the Sports Authority of India hostel in Kolkata in 2018.

Khatua has also shown her athletic prowess in other games like javelin, track and field 100 metres, 200 metres, 400 metres, and the heptathlon. She mentioned that the heptathlon helped her improve her overall athleticism. In 2022, the 28-year-old's 17.09-metre throw at the 1st Indian Open Throws Competition in Patiala secured her a glittering gold medal.

The 29-year-old missed her chance to compete in the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, but shone at the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships, where she finished second by throwing 18.06 meters and equalled the shot put national record set by Manpreet Kaur's in 2023.

Khatua made history on May 13, 2024, with a record-setting throw at the National Federation athletics meet in Bhubaneswar. The athlete representing Maharashtra marked 18.41 metres in her fifth attempt to win gold and surpass the national record. Speaking to Sportstar after her win, Khatua remarked, “In the Indian Grand Prix in Bengaluru, I did not get the right kind of ball and did 17.56m. Here it was fine. My change in technique has helped me improve. I think I can achieve the Olympic qualifying mark of 18.80m." Manpreet Kaur set the previous record at the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships 2022 in Chennai.