Vellore :

The not-yet-16-year-old N Hemamalini of Odugathur Government Girls Higher Secondary School, the daughter of a farmer from Madiyapattu village in Vellore district in the recently concluded 31st national level junior athletic meet held in Ranchi in Jharkhand, threw the javelin for a distance of 39.69 metres in the under-16-year category. It bettered the previous national level record by 0.60 metres.

She also won gold medals and achieved the distinction of being the record holder in the Junior State (Open) held in Kumbakonam in July 2015 when she threw the javelin to a record distance of 40.98 meter. Earlier, she set the record in the 26th South India Athletic Championship by throwing the javelin for a distance of 38.05 metres. She has won gold medals in state level school meets, state level junior open meets and the regional level CM Trophy.

“I have been practicing hard for two to three hours a day for the last three years. Even during school holidays, I use to train,” said Hemamalini, who is studying in class XI.

Hemamalini has been improving her ability to better her performance in every meet and she even outdid seniors in the recently held CM Trophy, in which she won silver medal and a cash prize of `75,000.

Since January 2014, she won eight gold medals and three silver medals, said her school Physical Education Teacher and mentor V Krishnamoorthy.

“She has the potential to win medals for the country at the international level athletic meets,” said the teacher, who has been training her for the last three years.

The teacher, in fact, arranged an air ticket for the young athlete from Bangalore to Ranchi to attend the national level meet during the third week of November in Ranchi after the trains were cancelled due to rain.

She is the pride for her father Neelakandan.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by J. Shanmuga Sundaram / ENS / December 01st, 2015