“Malleswari has dropped out due to a medical problem,” said PC Kashyap, executive director Team Wings of the Sports Authority of India. But Kashyap did not elaborate on Malleswari’s medical report, saying he had been away on an official tour and could not give a further update before Monday.

WFI secretary Balbir Singh Bhatia also declined to comment on the issue, saying only members of a committee that has been constituted to oversee the national camp could speak. And WFI president Harbhajan Singh, who heads the panel, was not available for comment.

Malleswari’s decision to pull out has come barely a week after coach Maged Salama of Egypt — who was assisting the national squad ahead of the Olympic qualifiers — leveled allegations that she was on drugs. Malleswari has vehemently denied any wrongdoing.

The outgoing coach had also objected to Malleswari’s inclusion in the camp on the grounds that she was “over the hill” and would be “no good” for the national squad. Salama, who cut short his one-year contract, left the country on February 27.

Malleswari’s inclusion in the camp had itself been a bit of a surprise. The federation had said that only those lifters who had taken part in the nationals would be considered for the coaching camp. That Malleswari was selected despite missing the Bhubaneswar national meet had raised eyebrows in the fraternity. Bhatia had then said that they had made a special allowance for Malleswari because she had expressed her desire to be included in the camp and could help the team win an Olympic berth.

Malleswari had barely touched the barbells in the Athens Olympics before bowing out of the competition. Since then, she has rarely been competition fit and has failed to impress on the few occasions when she has participated.

The federation is planning to send a seven-member women’s team to Japan. The continental competition is the last opportunity for them to get a berth for Beijing.

Meanwhile, it is uncertain if the men’s team will board the flight to Japan. After the 2006 Melbourne doping sandal, their performance has consistently been below par. At the Thailand world championships in 2007, the federation had not sent a full squad. Only three lifters, including Sarabjit Singh Kanda, were selected. Sarabjit is currently on the injured list and out of the camp.

Things haven’t been going so well for the weightlifting federation since January. Several lifters skipped the national camp at the start of the year, the coach put in his papers on January 23, and another camp had to be called off in the second week of February.