The Indian contingent is furious over a strange trespass bang in the middle of their official march in Friday's opening ceremony, says a report in The Times Of India, adding that any lingering disappointment about a lack of camera spotlight on the nation's athletes was overshadowed by the mystery of a lady in red and blue who walked alongside flag bearer Sushil Kumar.
The woman of unknown origin brazenly gate crashed the party, raising security concerns and adding to the anger over India's blink-and-miss appearance on global TV screens. Inexplicably, the Indian camp is clueless about the trespasser's identity. "She had no business being there. It was a clear case of intrusion," said the acting chef-demission, Brig P K M Raja. "We are taking up the issue with the organizers. We don't know who she is and why she was allowed to walk in."
The Indians suspect a security breach and have decided to take up the matter with the London Olympic Games Organizing Committee (LOCOG). "It is a shame that she was walking with our athletes," said Raja.
According to a report in the Deccan Herald, Brig P K Muralidharan Raja said that they would lodge a complaint with the organisers on the issue. “We have no idea who she is and we are quite upset about it. How can a person who is not even part of our contingent join us in the march past? We have been embarrassed in front of the whole nation,” said Raja.
“While all the athletes are allowed for the parade, only a specific number of officials are given permission. Our quota was 14 and nobody else was part of our team,” he said. “We had walked in from the Athletes’ Village and were set to enter the stadium. This woman was standing along with the contingent in front of us and as we started walking in, she slowly walked backwards and joined us. There was nothing we could do.”
The woman walked with the team and then quickly disappeared, leaving a trail of questions behind, the most important being security. “We are concerned by the fact that a person with no accreditation managed to sneak in and walk along with our team. We will express that in our letter to the organisers,” said Raja. “It is up to them to investigate it.”
Meanwhile, a report in DNA says that the presence of an unidentified lady beside flag-bearer Sushil Kumar in the Indian contingent during the opening ceremony of the Olympics has prompted the country's miffed officials to take up the issue with the Games organisers.
A young lady in red shirt and blue trouser was seen leading the Indian contingent in the march past alongside Beijing Games bronze-medal winner Sushil Kumar and her unwanted presence has not gone down well with the Indians who had no clue as to who she was.