Mysuru: The athletes involved in various sports must dream of representing the country at the Olympic Games, said Olympian Machettira Raju Poovamma.

Speaking after inaugurating the Karnataka State Inter District Junior and U-23 Athletic Meet – 2024 at Chamundi Vihar Stadium here yesterday, she said, only dedication, devotion and constant practice will help athletes win medals in the State, National and International events.

“Athletes must not lose confidence and hope for not winning medals. Instead, they should continue to practice by identifying the mistakes for better results,” she added.

Karnataka Athletics Association Secretary A. Rajavelu said that the Government of Karnataka had been encouraging sportspersons by providing various facilities. “The Government has sanctioned Rs. 5 lakh for each athlete from the State taking part in Olympics apart from reserving 2% in the Government employment for achievers in sports.

MLAs Tanveer Sait and H.M. Ganesh Prasad, Deputy Commissioner G. Lakshmikanth Reddy, Department of Youth Empowerment & Sports (DYES) Assistant Director Bhaskar Nayak, former Corporator Sathyaraju, Mysore District Athletics Association (MDAA) President S. Somashekar, Hon. Secretary B. Srikanth, Hon. Treasurer M. Umesh and Vice-President Abhilash Nair were present.

Tushar Vasant sets New Meet Record

Day-1 of the Meet witnessed B. Tushar Vasant of Belagavi setting a New Meet Record (NMR) in Men’s U-23 800 mts Run. Tushar, who led the race from the start, finished with a timing of 1:49.71sec, erasing the old record of 1:53.40sec set by M.C. Milan of Dakshina Kannada in 2022.

Results – 800m Run

Men U-23: 1. B. Tushar Vasant (Belagavi, 1:49.71 sec, NMR), 2. K. Lokesh (Yadgir, 1:52.02 sec) and 3. S. Kamalakannan (Bengaluru, 1:52.46 sec); Boys U-20: 1. J.R. Kalyan (Bengaluru, 1:58.70 sec), 2. H.Y. Chinthan (Yadgir, 1:59.08 sec) and 3. Y. Kasi Boyanna (Dakshina Kannada, 2:00.33 sec).

Women U-23: 1. Deepashree (DK, 2:16.25 sec), 2. Prathiksha (Udupi, 2:17.08 sec) and                          3. Rekha Basappa (DK, 2:17.72 sec); Girls U-20: 1. Vaishnavi Rawal (Belagavi, 2:20.89 sec) and 2. Preethisha Shetty (DK, 2:46.27 sec).