Budding heptathlon athlete Akshata dreams of reaching Olympics

Karkala: Akshata Poojary of Kervashe is a budding athletic talent from rural parts. After winning the gold medal at the International Open Heptathlon Competition recently, she now hopes to represent India at the Paris Olympics in 2024. But, financial hardships have become a big hurdle in realizing this dream of hers.

Akshatha is the youngest of the seven daughters of the Angu Poojari and Jayanti couple. Despite poverty and impoverishment, her steely determination propelled her to achieve excellence in sports.

The heptathlon is a grueling competitive sport. The women’s event comprises seven competitive events (100m hurdles, high jump, shotput, 200m, long jump, javelin, 800m). Points are awarded for the performance in each category of the competition. The highest scorer ultimately becomes the winner.

Akshatha has been an extraordinary heptathlon athlete winning medals at the state and national levels. She has participated in 9 heptathlon competitions at the national level in the past eight years, winning medals 3 times. At the state-level competitions, she has won 25 medals. She even won the gold at the national heptathlon meet held at Warangal on September 29. However, the worries of financial problems affecting her training and future achievements have diminished the happiness of the gold-winning performance.

After completing primary education at the primary school at Banglegudde in Kervashe, Akshata pursued her undergraduate studies from SDM College in Ujire. Presently, she is studying at the GKA Law College in Dharwad and simultaneously training for heptathlon under coach Ganesh Nayak. Sadly, she has not gotten any scholarships. She eagerly awaits the government or philanthropists to lend a helping hand and support her Olympic dreams.

Sports minister requests a meeting:

Responding to her appeal, Karnataka sports minister KC Narayana Gowda promised to help the athlete. He requested a meeting with Akshatha. “It is very gratifying to hear about the achievements of rural talent. The government is planning to send about 75 athletes to the 2024 Paris Olympics using the Central and State Funds. I will try to include Akshata in that list,” he said.

Mom and Dad haven’t seen me compete:

Despite the hardships, Akshata hopes to excel in sport. “I hope to represent the country at the Olympics. But poverty has been a constant demotivator. It has been difficult to afford the cost of bus travel which has been steadily rising. Despite being poor, my parents have supported in nurturing my athletic talents,” she lamented.

“I wish my parents could see me compete in a stadium,” she added.