India is a land of humongous sports talent but the irony remains in channelizing this pool of talent specifically in the smaller cities or rural areas. One such talent is the 20 year old budding athlete, Shrinath Ani from Belgaum district of Karnataka. This lad has to his credit seven Individual Championships and Best Athlete awards with a medal tally of 30 Gold, 9 Silver and 5 bronze in various track events; 400m & 800m running, 4x 100m & 4×400 m relay and 400 m hurdles. He has participated in various state and National level sporting events – National School Games, Vidya Bharati National School games, State Athletic Championship, Dasara Athletic Championship and many more.
He began his sporting career at the age of thirteen inspired by his elder brother who had to give up sports to support their family after the demise of his father. Shrinath recollects ‘My family is unable to support me financially but their encouragement keeps me pepped up’.
Taking the ruins form his older brother’s dream, Shrinath despite all odds started training initially at school and further under the guidance of Mr. Pradeep Juvekar at the Club.
This young lad is extremely talented and aspires to participate in International competitions and bring laurels to the country. Despite the extraordinary talent, lack of proper nutrition and accessories for fitness and training pose a great challenge to this young boy.
Shrinath says ‘My mother is a tailor and works hard to support the family and bears the educational expenses my elder sister and me. It is therefore unfair on my part to expect financial support from her. I manage my training expenses by taking up small jobs and working as a delivery boy with a food delivery service’.
We hope that Shrinath is able to fulfill his dream.
