Articles by Dharmendra D

On 15th Apr 2013, the third Monday of April, celebrated as Patriots' Day in the USA and also the day of the world's most popular marathon - the Boston Marathon, 3 people were killed and over 140 injured due to bomb blasts close to the finishing line, at around 4 hours and 10 minutes into the marathon. It is now known that all three of the unfortunate victims who died in the bomb blasts at Boston, were spectators who had come to cheer their friends and others in the race. Several of the injured were also spectators.If this had happened…

Bengaluru has historically been known as a badminton stronghold for several decades now. It has been the proud home to the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (PPBA) which has groomed several champions at all levels. One only needs to visit Lalbagh or Cubbon Park in the mornings to see several of Bangalore’s citizens engaged in casual but keenly contested badminton encounters. A badminton club in the city. Pic: Dharmendra D Where can you play? There are a number of private and public facilities in the city catering to badminton players of various age groups. Both casual and competitive players can find…

Pic courtesy: Nisha Millet. How do you think your life would be if you developed a fear of water before you were even 6 years old, having fallen into a pond? Well you could end up at the Olympics as a swimmer! That's what Bengaluru-based swimming ace Nisha Millet did. The Olympics don't just happen to you. You work your way to it. Read on.Nisha is one of India's most illustrious swimmers, having won numerous medals at various national and international competitions and went on to become the only Indian woman swimmer at the Sydney Olympics. Since then, only one…

The recently concluded National Masters Athletic Championships held at Kanteerava stadium , in the last week of Febraury, served to highlight several challenges stunting the growth of sports in India as well as avenues for improvement of the state of sports in India and not just for Masters athletes. Particpants at the NMAC. Pic: Anju K P For one, there were very few people who knew about the event in the country, let alon ein Bangalore. The fact that a copy of the event schedule was not available till the first day of the meet didn't aid matters. The Masters…

Benglauru hosted the 33rd National Masters Athletic Championship from the 23rd - 26th February 2012 at the Kanteerava stadium. Pic: Anju K P For the uninitiated, the Masters meet is for people aged 35 or above. At this meet, there were 10 age categories (for 5 years each) ranging from the 35-39 group to the 80 and above group. There could be more categories in the future with increasing life expectancy in line with global trends. The meet is organised by the Masters Athletics Federation of India (MAFI), which is the nodal body for the organization of events for athletes…

Reeth Abraham is one of India's most well known athletes participating in the hurdles, long jump and heptathlon events, with a career that began in 1976. She has won various medals at several international competitions including at the Asian level. Her achievement stands out particularly since she won a medal at the Asian level less than a year after she became a mother. Reeth, at one of her practice sessions at Kanteerava Stadium. Pic: Deepthi M S Although she retired from competitive athletics in 1992, this 49-year-old has continued training over the years and is now active as a Masters…

On one run through Bangalore's Cubbon Park, Pankaj Rai, one of Bangalore's several runners and a senior executive at an IT giant, muses, "Where else can one carry on stimulating conversations with such a diverse set of runners while running at the same time?" The city of Bangalore will witness the 5th edition of the Midnight Marathon in less than a week from today. Over 7500 participants (as per the organisers) will toe the starting line for various events which include not just the half and full marathons but also other events such as the corporate relay and a unique…