Tirupur: Dharun Ayyasamy, a 21-year old athlete from Tirupur did the nation proud by clinching the silver medal in the 400m hurdles in the 18th Asian games in Jakarta on Monday. He has set a new national record time of 48.96s, beating his own earlier record of 49.45s. This is a first for any Indian to run below the 49s mark in the quarter mile hurdles.
Tirupur: Dharun Ayyasamy, a 21-year old athlete from Tirupur did the nation proud by clinching the silver medal in the 400m hurdles in the 18th Asian games in Jakarta on Monday. He has set a new national record time of 48.96s, beating his own earlier record of 49.45s. This is a first for any Indian to run below the 49s mark in the quarter mile hurdles.
Dharun was at fourth place till the 300m mark but saved his best for last as he pushed harder in the last 100m to cross two competitors aiming for a medal past the finish line. This is India's first medal in the hurdles event since 2010. Earlier, in 2010, Joseph Abraham won a gold.
K Poongodi, Dharan’s mother was elated. “We are very happy and proud of him. He worked hard for this medal. He is basically very hard-working in nature and believes in improvement. Sakthiyakumar, a physical education teacher, was the first coach who identified the athletic talent in Dharun. He is the one who brought him into the limelight. As he was running on the Asian track, we were shouting in front of the television set “Vaada vaada” and truly the best gift for a mother is to see her children achieve success on the big stages. We wish for him to achieve more success in the future,” exulted Poongodi.
Dharun was just eight years old when he lost his father. His mother Poongodi, a school teacher in Tirupur, raised him and his sister. “Dharun began his sports career in Class 5 and never failed to show improvement with his every performance,” says Sakthi, Dharun's first coach. Dharun was initially a Kho Kho player and participated in state level meets. Sakthi spotted his hidden talent and thereon there was no looking back for Dharun. He represented national events when he was in Class 10, a year that marked a drastic improvement in his performance. In one season, he clocked 58s in a 400m race, 55s in a district meet, 53s in a divisional meet and polished off his timings in 49s in a State meet,” recalls Sakthi. Avery happy man now, Sakthi commends Dharun saying, “It is very difficult to find such a hard-working athlete at his age. He is very sincere in his work and always tries to improve his skills.”
Appreciating his victory, the Tamil Nadu government has announced a prize of Rs.30 lakhs for Dharun Ayyasamy.
