Pinky had reached a record high and shot into prominence when the Indian middle-distance runner picked up the all-important gold medal with the Indian women’s relay team in the Doha Asian Games. The ace athlete is now looking to get picked for the national team for the Olympics after she served a seven-month-long lay-off following a freak motorcycle accident last November.

What makes Pinky’s bid for earning her place back in the side all the more interesting is the fact that she has virtually declared war on the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) and its officially-appointed Ukranian middle-distance coach Dr Nicholai.

And as a result of the stand-off between Pinky and the AFI, the Bengal middle-distance runner has decided to skip the ongoing national preparatory camp that is being held in phases in Delhi and Patiala. Pinky’s decision not to show up at the AFI’s camp was prompted after Dr Nicholai stopped Pinky from competing in the 800-metres qualifier in the Doha Asian Games.

Despite being aware of the AFI’s displeasure at the ongoing stand-off, Pinky told The Indian Express: “If I can clock 2.02 secs in the 800 metres in the forthcoming inter-state meet from June 7 to 9, then he (read: Dr Nicholai) cannot stop me from going to Bejing.”

She is also concentrating on her favourite event, the 400 metres, for the Olympics. Asked about her chances of qualifying in the 400 metres, Pinky said: “I need to clock 51 secs in the inter-state meet for the Olympics qualification. That looks quite difficult at the moment, as I have been training for last 25 days only. But at the same time, I observed top runners in the 400 metres event in the recently-concluded Federation Cup, those who had clocked about 52 to 53 secs. So, with three months left for the inter-state meet, I cannot say that it won’t be possible for me to finish 400 metres at 52 secs. Let us see.”