Injured Jaisha's London Olympic dream dashed

India's leading middle-distance runner OP Jaisha's dream of representing the country in the London Games has crashed.

India's leading middle-distance runner OP Jaisha's dream of representing the country in the London Games has crashed. She was supposed to compete in a series of 1,500m event on the European circuit, beginning June 24, but is yet to recover from a stress fracture.

Since she has just started jogging, her chances of achieving the London qualification mark before the July 8 deadline looks unlikely.

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Jaisha, along with long-distance runner Kavita Raut, Preeja Sreedharan and steeplechase runner Sudha Singh, are based in Italy for the past some time. The athletes are training under world-renowned athletics expert Claudio Berardelli.

India's distance coach Jasvinder Singh Bhatia, coordinating with his Italian counterpart, confirmed the development, saying, "Jaisha isn't 100 per cent fit. It will be difficult for her to regain lost fitness," said Bhatia.

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