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Going places
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Sruthi has set her sight on the national stage
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PHOTO: P.V SIVAKUMAR
Sruthi warms up before practise.
Mylaram Sruthi is a IX std student of Amaravathi Grammar High School, Seethaphalmandi but she's going places or should we say to great lengths in becoming a long distance runner.
Capping her achievements thus far is the three-medal haul she came up with during the Andhra Pradesh State Junior Athletic Championships at Produttur, Kadapa in May.
The searing heat notwithstanding, she blazed a trail against much older and better-built runners, bagging bronze in the 3000 metres and a silver each in the 1500 and 5000 metres. Earlier achievements earned her a place for the National Inter District Championships at Haridwar in November last year. She recorded equally promising performances in the state sub junior championships at Narayanapuram, West Godavari, in January this year. In addition to a gold in the 1200 metres, Sruthi steered her squad to bronze in the 4 x 100 metre relay.
Much of the credit for her very induction as well as her sister M. Keerthi into athletics should go to her father M. Parashuram, an Agricultural Extension Officer of the Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University. For about a year, he coached them but realisedthat they needed systematic training, which called for qualified guidance.
Retired Railway coach Anthony Xavier was only too willing to help.Xavier was convinced Sruthi was a stayer, rather than a sprinter and introduced her to middle and long distance running.
Not only did he take care to build up endurance, he would ensure the long-limbed lass grew in toughness mentally too. He would also counsel parents on how to bring out the best from their children.
Jairaj spurred her on by his wish (that he expressed often) to see her in India colours. Sruthi started competitive racing in the Devender Yadav memorial road races in 2003 striding away with the silver in the 1.5 km run and a similar finish in the Golden Mile.
Egged on by Rajesh Kumar and Bhaskar Reddy, Sruthi raised the bar, taking on superior competition in the Hyderabad 10 K races. From 2004 to the present, Sruthi won virtually every race she took part in, regardless of where it was run or what the competition was like. With more than a bagful of medals and certificates for her accomplishments, Sruthi has set her sight on the national stage. It's only a matter of time before this industrious runner brings home the laurels from that front too.
A. JOSEPH ANTONY
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