Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru
Mangaluru, May 20: Dr Giridhar Salian, a native of Mangaluru, clinched the gold medal in the Javelin Throw (M60 category) at the World Masters Games 2025, held at the Taipei Stadium on May 18.
The World Masters Games officially commenced with a grand welcome ceremony at the Taipei Dome on May 17. Sporting events began the following day and will continue until May 30. Over 25,000 participants from 107 countries are competing across various disciplines.
Held once every four years, the previous edition, originally scheduled in Kansai, Japan, in 2021, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, the current edition marks the return of the games after an eight-year hiatus, taking place in Taipei and New Taipei City, Taiwan.
Dr Salian is no stranger to success. He won a gold medal in the Asian Masters Athletics Championship 2023 and a silver medal at the World Masters Athletics Championship 2023, both in the M60 javelin throw category. His previous achievements include a fourth-place finish at the Asian Masters in 2017, a gold medal in 2019, and another silver at the 2023 World Masters Athletics Indoor Championship held in Poland.
Remarkably, Dr Salian trains without an on-field coach, relying instead on guidance and suggestions from Kashinath, the coach of Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra.
An alumnus of NITK with an MTech degree, Dr Giridhar Salian currently serves as the director of the Karnataka German Technical Training Institute.