Pics: Abhijith N Kolpe

Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru (ANK)

Mangaluru, Nov 17: Prajna J Shetty is a young athlete who has brought several laurels to the state in Karate, kickboxing and wushu. She has bagged more than 30 medals in state and national level competitions.

Prajna’s is aiming to take part in the South Asian Games 2022 which will be held in Bangkok in March and Indian Open International Kickboxing Competition in February 2022. Unfortunately, Prajna’s family is in dire straits due poor financial condition. This might deny her opportunity to take part in the upcoming athletic events.

She needs financial assistance to fulfill her dreams as well as represent the country.

Prajna started training in karate when she was in class 9. She is getting trained at Institute of Karate and Martial Arts (IKMA) under Nithin N Suvarna and Sampath Kumar. In 2019, she bagged 2 gold and one bronze in the national level karate championship held in Ooty. Prajna’s achievements in karate, kickboxing and wushu are enormous. In August 2021, she bagged 2 gold medals in state level kickboxing and silver medal in a national level meet.

Apart from sports, Prajna has done tremendously well in academics too where she secured a distinction in BCA at SDM College Mangaluru. Prajna is a multitalented personality actively involved in extracurricular activities. She even performs Bharatnatyam and other dances.

At an early age, Prajna lost her father. Since then, her mother Poornima and her grandparents have been a constant support for Prajna. Her father’s demise pushed Prajna’s family into a difficult situation. Prajna’s mother had to work for a hotel, supplying home food. Her health started deteriorating due to work. Meanwhile, she was under immense pressure to take care of Prajna’s studies as well as her tournaments.

Prajna wanted to pursue MCA, but her financial condition made her drop the plan. Prajna is working at present and aims to pursue her post-graduation studies. Along with work, Prajna is training hard to take part in the upcoming tournaments.

Speaking to daijiworld, a well-wisher of Prajna, Sujaya Shetty said, “Prajna and her mother Poornima have the will-power of doing something good. They have this ‘never give up’ attitude. At a young age, Prajna lost her father and since then it has been a struggle for her. Fighting against all odds, she has achieved a lot in karate and made all of us proud. Her school and college supported her and hence she could get trained herself for the tournament. Prajna can become a top achiever in sports if encouraged the right way. It is a humble request to people to come forward in helping her financially so that she can take part in the South Asian Games 2022.”

Prajna is desperately in need of financial support. Kind-hearted donors can donate in the below account details:

Name: Poornima (Prajna’s mother)
Canara Bank
Branch Surathkal
Account number: 0634101014965
IFSC code: CNRB0000634