new delhi the delhi high court wednesday directed the selection committee to consider on merits the case of athlete tejaswin shankar a high jumper who has been excluded from participating in the 2022 birmingham commonwealth gamesthe high court said shankars nonparticipation in the interstate championship shall not be the sole criteria for rejecting him and observed that he is a medal prospect and there should not be an ego issuejustice jasmeet singh issued notice and sought a response from the athletics federation of indiaafi ministry of youth affairs and sports and the selection committee of the afi for the senior category on the petitionthe plea sought to direct the afi not to disqualify shankar from participating at the cwg 2022 based on nonattendance at the interstate senior athletics championships and be allowed to participate based on having met the qualifying standard at the national collegiate athletic association ncaa championshipsthese are record holders and you dont let them go he shankar is a medal prospect let it not be an ego problem the court saidthe court was informed by advocate parth goswami representing afi and selection committee that the final list of athletes has already been prepared and submitted to indian olympics association ioahe further said that the selection committee is scheduled to meet todayto this the court directed that the selection committee shall consider the case of shankar on merits of his jumps and his nonparticipation in the interstate championship shall not be the sole criteria for rejecting his candidaturesenior advocate gopal sankaranarayanan and advocate malak bhatt representing shankar submitted that he has been excluded despite being the national high jump record holder 229m and being the only indian to have met the afi qualification standard of 227m with a jump of 227m as recently as june 10 2022 while winning a gold medal at the ncaa track and field outdoor championship 2022 in eugene oregon in the usathe plea said that shankar is also part of the target olympic podium scheme tops for the last two years which is a flagship olympic development scheme under the ministry of sports and has been receiving a scholarship for the sameit said that the petitioner has not been considered by the afi for failing to take permission to be exempted from attending the 2022 interstate championships which cannot be a disqualifying criterionthe counsel said shankar had sought exemption from interstate championships as they clashed with the ncaa championship and had informed the chief national coach through whatsapp messagesthe petitioner is at present indisputably the best indian high jumper in the world and on the basis of current form is undoubtedly a medal contender at the cwg 2022 in fact only two high jumpers both nonindian who will prospectively be competing at the cwg 2022 have a better jump than him this year the counsel submittedthe plea said it is in the interest of the nation that shankar be allowed to participate in the cwg 2022 based on his merit as established from