Varun T
from Andhra Pradesh and Manipur’s
Prasida N
, both representing
Thiruvananthapuram, on Sunday became the first man and woman athletes to secure a gold medal in the inaugural
Kerala Games
.
Varun won the men’s under 68kg competition in taekwondo held at the Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram beating Kozhikode’s Abhishek K who had to settle for silver. Prasida, meanwhile, took the gold in women’s under 46kg beating Alappuzha’s Jovana KS.
Varun and Prasida have been training at Sports Authority of India (SAI)’s LNCPE in Kariavattom for the past four years and have represented Kerala at various events including the junior and senior nationals.
Varun is a gold medalist at the junior nationals and also represented University of Kerala at the recently-concluded all-India inter-university championship. Prasida, who also trains under SAI coaches PK Baladevi and B Balagopal, had represented India at the world championships held in 2018 and is a student of the Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar.
In the men’s under 87 kg, Ernakulam's Paulson MD took the top step on the podium while Razim KA of Thiruvananthapuram won the silver. In the women’s over 73kg event, Malappuram’s Unnimaya TV won the gold while Arya Krishna of Thiruvananthapuram won the silver.
In the men's over 87kg event, Thiruvananthapuram’s Minaz M Cheriyan won the gold while Wayanad's Enosh KA won the silver.
In the women’s under 53kg event, Malappuram's Rana Majeed P won the gold while Ashwini TV of Kasaragod took the silver.
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