City girl Madhura part of cast

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After a day of suspense, the mystery has finally been solved. The unknown woman who caused international fury strolling in with the Indian contingent during the Opening Ceremony of the London Olympics has been identified as Bengaluru girl Madhura Nagendra. The 25-year-old, working at Keane as a technical communicator in London, caught global attention, dressed in a red sweatshirt and turquoise blue trousers as she walked alongside India’s flag-bearer Sushil Kumar on Friday night.

Her identity was revealed on Sunday morning after a Deccan Chronicle staffer identified her as a college mate. Ms Madhura completed her post-graduation in Communications and Media Studies from Christ College in 2009. Even as Ms Madhura remained unreachable, her father K.L. Nagendra sprang to her defence: “My daughter has done nothing wrong and she has not broken any rules. She was part of the opening ceremony as a dancer.

She was later asked by someone in the Organising Committee to be part of India’s march-past.” Her presence caused a major uproar in the Indian contingent with India’s acting chef-de-mission Muralidharan Raja lodging a protest with the organisers. After the incident, her parents have practically gone into hiding. Their house in Banashankari wore a deserted look. It is said they are currently living in their family home in Anekal on the outskirts of the city to avoid the media glare.

Ms Madhura’s friends claimed that she was very excited about the Games and said she was picked as a volunteer. In fact, the cover photograph on her Facebook profile, which she deactivated quickly following the uproar over her identity, pictured her in front of the Olympics stadium. One of her friends, on condition of anonymity, said, “She was obviously very excited to be part of the Olympics and had told us she was in the dance troupe. But we were shocked to see her with the Indian contingent. She has practically gone underground after she made news.”