Mangalore: City Salutes Olympian Athlete Poovamma, Coach Dinesh Kunder
Daijiworld Media Network—Mangalore (MM/CN)
Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
Mangalore, Sep 13: It was a rare occasion. Perhaps no other find achiever has been felicitated in this manner in the city. The star of the day was seated on an elephant, which was part of the grand procession.
She was none other than M R Poovamma, the athlete from Dakshina Kannada, who participated in the Beijing Olympics. The procession wound its way from Mangala Stadium to SDM Law College on Saturday September 13.
Responding to the felicitation given by the district administration, Mangalore Athletic Club, and SDM College of Business Administration, she remarked, 'Everyone has talent, but one needs to come forward to show one's talents.' She added that discipline was key to the success of a nation without which nothing can be achieved.
Poovamma went on to say the participating in the Beijing Olympics was a great experience for her as she got the opportunity to meet great athletes of the world.
He coach Dinesh Kunder was also felicitated on the occasion. He said Poovamma lost a medal in the Bangkok international meet because she couldn't practice on a synthetic track.
She had practiced on the cinder track here at Mangala Stadium. Though Poovamma won the bronze medal there, she was disqualified because she stamped on one of the tracks. Therefore, the city needs a synthetic track at the earliest to produce world class athletes, he opined. Having such a track soon will help prepare athletes for the next Olympics. All should join together for this cause, he exhorted.
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Kunder said that a certain Dr Francis from USA was impressed by reading about Poovamma on Daijiworld.com, a year ago. He then contacted Kunder and donated Rs 1 lac for sports promotional activities, added the coach. Kunder said that Dr Francis had promised further assistance in the near future.
Challenging Task:
District commissioner (DC) M Maheshwar Rao said that preparing a synthetic track at Mangala Stadium was a challenging task as it needs Rs 3 - 5 crore. The synthetic track can be made with the help of the state government and sports lovers. If everything goes well, the track will be ready within 18 months, he assured.