Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) seemed to have taken a calculated risk as it named tainted lifter Sateesha Rai in the 14-member squad for the Melbourne Commonwealth Games slated for March.
Sateesha Rai, along with Krishnan Madaswamy, were stripped of medals they won at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester after testing positive. This time, the lifter is made part of the squad and would compete in the 85 kg cetegory.
After a month-long training in NIS Patiala, the IWF has announced the squad for the Melbourne Games with veteran Kunjarani Devi looking the best bet for a medal Down Under.
After the National championship in Yamuna Nagar, IWF had shortlisted 30 lifters for the camp in Patiala and picked the 14-member squad after trials.
Apart from the lifters — male and female in equal numbers — the team would be accompanied by four coaches.
Team: Men : R Edwin and Vicky Batta (56kg), M Arun (62kg), CPR Sudhir Kumar (69kg), Mohammed Zakir (77kg), Tejinder Singh and Sateesha Rai (85kg). Women: Kunjarani Devi (48kg), Renu Bala (58kg), B Prameelavali (63kg), L Monika Devi (69kg), Shailaja Pujari (75kg), Geeta Rani and Simple Kaur Burmah (plus 75kg). Coaches: M Tamil Selvan, Jaswant Singh, Hansa Sharma and K Amarnadh.