Veena was conferred with the Jhansirani Lakshmi Bai award at the 53rd senior national kho-kho championship in 2019-2020. She also won a gold medal at the 12th South Asian Games International.
Mysuru :
M Veena, a 20-year-old from Kuruburu village in T Narasipur, has made Karnataka proud with her feats in kho-kho. The BCom graduate was conferred with the Karnataka Kreeda Ratna award by the state government on November 2 in Bengaluru.
Veena started practising kho-kho ten years ago while studying in Class 5 at the Vidyadarshini Convent. Since then, she has not turned back, participating in many state, national and international kho-kho events and winning several awards, bringing laurels to the state.
Veena is a top defender and an all-round performer. She has been conferred with the Jhansirani Lakshmi Bai award at the 53rd senior national kho-kho championship in 2019-2020. She also won a gold medal at the 12th South Asian Games International held in Assam and participated at the 4th Asian Games Kho-Kho International Camp held in Delhi.
“I practise for more than five hours every day. The game has given me popularity and I feel happy. My wish is to participate in more international events, give more outstanding performances and aim for the Arjuna award, which would encourage fresh talent,” said the champ whose desire is to become a kho-kho coach and make this desi game more popular.
Going down memory lane, Veena said, “We neither had a playground to practise nor a physical education teacher to train us. The knowledge about sports was zero. Despite facing several problems, opposition and discouragement from families and villagers, we continued practising relentlessly without giving up. Amidst all ups and downs, we started practising kho-kho at the coconut farm adjacent to the school. We are able to reach international level today because of K Manjunath who is the maths teacher in our school. He is the inspiration behind the achievements of several girls in the village.”
When Manjunath joined duty in 2008, what impressed him most was the girls chasing each other inside the school premises during the leisure period. Observing their running skills, he arranged a running race competition in school. He noticed girls running better than boys and introduced athletics in the school. In the span of 12 years, several students are practising kho-kho in the village and have won several tournaments.
Manjunath says with pride, “The achievements of Veena have inspired many in the villages. I am confident that more children from our village will be winning the Kreeda Ratna Award. It started with a team of five students and today over 85 children are practising kho-kho in the village. The village kids are recognized and appreciated by several people.”
Asked what inspired him to teach kho-kho to children, he said, “I could not fulfil my dream to become a kho-kho player. I am happy my students are fulfilling my dreams. We are confident we will win more premier kho-kho leagues in future.”
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Sport> others / by K Rathna / Express News Service / November 02nd, 2020