What can a sports club operating from a small room in a basement do? Produce champions.
That exactly is what YUVA (Youth for Unity, Vitality and Awareness) is doing. Operating from the basement of the Kittur Rani Chennamma Stadium, Jayanagar 3rd Block, YUVA has been producing quality athletes who have routinely earned laurels and accolades at various athletic events, both at the University and the National level. It was founded in 1985 by C Maheshwaran, himself a former national athlete.
Karate practice at Yuva (pic: Subbu Vincent)
YUVA has been serving the sports training needs of Bangaloreans for more than 20 years now. Sneha Patil, a club member, won the 400 and 100 metres hurdles in the Junior Girls level at the recent National Championships. Preeti Rao who used to train with the club earlier currently represents India in athletics. She participated in the South Asian Federation games.
Currently, about 40 students train in athletics at YUVA. Many students are promising young athletes; a few older sports people also continue their training here. Shashidhar, who was earlier the Bangalore University Champion in 100 metres, trains with the club and also takes responsibility in training some of the junior athletes. At YUVA, senior and experienced athletes train the junior athletes. Athletics apart, about 25 students train in Karate under Hari Babu (a black belt holder). The chief coach of YUVA, Sunil Kumar, has himself participated and won medals in several national and international competitions, not only in athletics but also in martial arts. With his vast experience, Sunil Kumar helps in customised work-out schedules for individuals based on their goals and capabilities.
Email: yuvajayanagar@rediffmail.com
Timings: 6:30 – 8:00 AM (all days), 5:00 – 7:00 PM (Mon-Sat)
While the majority of the members are children, there are quite a few office goers who undergo training on a variety of disciplines like marathon running and karate. So, if you want to bring out the athletic talents of your child while fulfilling your own long cherished dream of running your first marathon, you can just slip into your running shoes and hit the Jayanagar Stadium. It might just help you prepare for the long run.