Odisha athlete shine at South Asian Athletics Federation Junior Championships

Bhubaneswar: India had a great run at the recently concluded South Asian Athletics Federation Junior Championships in Chennai. With a total haul of 48 medals, India stood on top of the table at the competition. Young athletes from Odisha added five medals in India’s kitty.

Odisha’s Pratik Maharana, Dondapati Mrutyam Jayaram, Mahendra Santa, Sabita Toppo and Laxmi Priya Kisan represented India in the SAAF Junior Championships. They added 4 silvers and 1 bronze to India’s medal tally in 4 individual and 1 team event. Their success at the international podium reflects their sheer willpower.
Working in the dusty lanes of Odisha’s Bargarh as a delivery executive, the young Pratik Maharana had a gruelling tryst with life and fate during the Covid Pandemic. While the boy had long dreamt of making it big as a sprinter and win laurels for the nation, the harsh realities of life pushed his dreams to the back burner. However, with the help of the Government of Odisha and guidance from his coach, the boy came back to the track, trained hard to earn himself a place in India’s contingent for the SAAF Junior games. He then went on to create history by grabbing 2 silver medals for India on a single day, in the men’s 200m junior and 4×100 m relay respectively. He hopes that with the government’s support he will continue to excel on the tracks. ‘I am very thankful to the government of Odisha for its continuous support and with this I am sure, I will be able to win more medals in the future’ gushed an elated Pratik.

19-year-old Jayaram too did not have it easy in life. Hailing from Odisha’s Kalahandi, with a passion for sports but a lack of proper training Jayaram had tried it hands at various sports including cricket. However, when he ran on the tracks at a district meet during a talent scout programme of the government of Odisha, his fortunes changed. With the support of Odisha’s Sports and Youth Services Department, he flourished into a medal-winning track and field athlete and has now bagged 2 medals, one silver and another bronze for the country in his maiden SAAF competition.

Out of the 5 medals bagged by team Odisha at the SAAF games, 2 have come from female athletes. Odisha’s Sabita Toppo and Laxmi Priya Kisan, who was a last-minute addition to the Indian contingent, have bagged silver and a bronze in the women’s 100m hurdles and women’s 800m event respectively. Both belong to the tribal community of Odisha and have rose to through the ranks to represent India and clinch medals, through the initiatives taken by the government of Odisha to scout and nurture athletes from the grassroots. ‘Government of Odisha has been extremely helpful in my journey as an athlete so far’, says Sabita Toppo, who has also run with her personal best timing in the competition. A sports hostel cadet through the talent pathway to the Athletics High Performance centre, Sabita believes that the government’s backing will enable her to become a track and field legend.

While Dondapati Mrutyam Jayaram, Mahendra Santa, Sabita Toppo and Laxmi Priya Kisan Odisha Reliance foundation Athletics High Performance Centre under the able guidance of coach Martin Owens, Pratik Maharana trains under his coach Siba Mishra at Birsa Munda Athletics Stadium in Rourkela.

The medals won by these athletes are not just a mark of individual grit and perseverance but also a testament to the Government of Odisha’s visionary initiatives. The government’s robust grassroots talent scouting, nurturing and overall support programmes has empowered these athletes into winning laurels for the state and the country.