After a day’s suspense, the mystery woman who marched with the Indian contingent at the Olympics opening has been identified. She is Bengaluru’s Madhura Nagendra, 25, who walked alongside India’s flag-bearer Sushil Kumar in London on Friday night.
Madhura’s identity was revealed Sunday morning after a staffer of this newspaper identified her as a college mate. She studied in Bengaluru and is currently living in London, where she was a opening ceremony volunteer. Her father K.L Nagendra sprang to her defence. “My daughter did nothing wrong. She was part of the opening ceremony as a dancer.”
Madhura’s presence caused a major uproar, with India’s chef-de-mission Muralidharan Raja lodging a protest with the organisers. Games chief Lord Sebastian Coe, howevr, confirmed in London on Sunday she was a member of the cast, and there was no security breach. “She didn’t just walk in off the street. She was a cast member who got slightly over-excited.” He ruled out any action against her.