Manjima Kuriakose (born 29 October 1976) is a 400 metres runner from Wayanad, Kerala. [1] [2] She was named as a part of the Indian 4x400 m women relay team at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, though she did not actually run in any Olympic races. [3] Apart from that, she was also named to the Indian team at the 2002 Asian Games that won the 4 x 400 m relay, though she was not selected to run at the championships. [4] Her fellow athlete Aloysious has alleged that Manjima was a victim of discriminations in terms of opportunities where athletes from North India were giving priorities and that Manjima was sidelined for the (women's) 400 metres relay at the Asian Games. [5] Manjima later became the Deputy Commandant in the Central Reserve Police Force. [3]
Anju Bobby George is a retired Indian athlete. Anju Bobby George made history when she won the bronze medal in long jump at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics in Paris. With this achievement, she became the first Indian athlete ever to win a medal in a World Championships in Athletics jumping 6.70 metres (22.0 ft). She went on to win the gold medal at the IAAF World Athletics Final in 2005, a performance she considers her best. Anju was upgraded to the gold status from silver in the 2005 World Athletics Final in Monte Carlo following the disqualification of Tatyana Kotova of Russia by the International Association of Athletics Federations, following the recent re-testing of the latter's sample collected at the 2005 World Championship in Helsinki. She was awarded the Arjuna Award in 2002, Khel Ratna in 2003 and Padma Shri in 2004. She had got 5th position with personal best of 6.83 metres (22.4 ft) at the 2004 Athens Olympics. In March 2021, Anju won the BBC lifetime achievement award for best athlete in India. She is also the current vice-president of the Athletics Federation of India.
Kalayathumkuzhi Mathews Beenamol, popularly known as K. M. Beenamol, from Kombidinjal, Idukki district, Kerala is an international athlete from India.
Pilavullakandi Thekkeparambil Usha is an Indian sports administrator and retired track and field athlete. Usha was born in Koothali near Perambra in Kozhikode district, Kerala. She grew up in Payyoli. Usha has been associated with Indian athletics since 1979. She has won 4 gold medals and 7 silver medals in the Asian Games. She is often associated as the "Queen of Indian track and field".
Shiny Kurisingal Wilson is a retired Indian athlete. She has been a National Champion in 800 metres for 14 years. Shiny Abraham Wilson represented India more than 75 times in international competition. She holds the added distinction of representing Asia in four World Cups. She is also perhaps the only athlete to have taken part in six Asian Track & Field Meets in a row beginning 1985 in Jakarta. During this period she won seven gold, five silver and two bronze medals in the Asian competitions. She collected a total of 18 gold and two silver medals from the seven South Asian Federation (SAF) Meets she has competed.
Chitra Kulathummuriyil Soman was born in Mattakkara, Kottayam, Kerala. Her father is from Kottayam and her mother is from kanjirappally, Kerala. She is an Indian sprinter who specializes in the 400 metres. Soman finished seventh in 4 x 400 metres relay at the 2004 Summer Olympics, together with teammates Satti Geetha, K. M. Beenamol and Rajwinder Kaur. This team, only with Manjeet Kaur running instead of Geetha, had set a national record of 3:26.89 minutes in the heat. Soman also ran for the Indian team who won a silver medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. In 2007, Chitra Soman won gold medal in 400m race at Asian Grand Prix series held at Guwahati on 23 June 2007 and at Puen held on 27 June 2007. She also led Indian women 4 × 400 m relay team to Gold in Asian Athletics Championship held at Amman in July 2007. In 2008, Chitra again showed her class by leading another win for Indian women 4 × 400 m relay team in 3rd Asian Indoor Championship in Athletics held in Doha in Feb 2008.
Manathoor Devasia Valsamma is a retired Indian athlete. She was the second Indian woman to win an individual gold medal at the Asian Games and the first to win it on Indian soil.
Deshabandu Kobala Vithanage Damayanthi Dharsha-Kobalavithanage is a retired Sri Lankan athlete who competed in the 200 and 400 metres race events. She is the current Asian Games record holder in women's 200m event and current Asian Athletics Championships record holder in women's 400m event as well as national record holder in women's 400m. She is regarded as one of the greatest track and field athletes to have represented Sri Lanka at international level alongside her teammate Susanthika Jayasinghe. She is also regarded as the most successful Sri Lankan athlete at the Asian Games with a medal haul of four medals including three gold medals and became the first Sri Lankan female athlete to clinch three Asian Games gold medals. She represented Sri Lanka at the Olympics on three occasions in 1992, 2000 and 2004. She also represented Sri Lanka at the Commonwealth Games on four occasions in 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2006 as well as at the South Asian Games on four occasions.
Mercy Kuttan is a former Indian track and field athlete. She was the first Indian woman long jumper to cross six meters. In 1989, Mercy received Arjuna Award for her contribution to the Indian athletics.
Manjeet Kaur is an Indian sprint athlete from Punjab who specializes in 400 metres. She held the 400 m National record of 51.05 seconds set at the National Circuit Athletic Meet held in Chennai on 16 June 2004. She broke the previous record held by K. M. Beenamol since November 2001. In doing so, she passed the qualifying mark for the 2004 Athens Olympics. She along with Chitra K. Soman, Rajwinder Kaur and K. M. Beenamol form the team that holds the current National record in 4 x 400 metres relay.
Tintu Luka is an Indian track and field athlete, who predominantly competes in the middle-distance running events. Born in Valathode, Kerala, she is the national record holder in the women's 800 metres. Luka represented India at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics. In addition to being the 2015 Asian Champion in the 800 meters, she has won a total of six medals at the Asian Athletics Championships.
In India, the sport of athletics was introduced during the period of the British Raj. The sport is governed at national level by the Athletics Federation of India, which was formed in 1946. Despite its large population, few Indian athletes have won a medal in a global or major championship. This began to change in the 21st century, when Indians started taking greater interest in athletics more generally and improved facilities for the sport began to be built at a local level. At a continental level, it has been among the more successful Asian nations, though some distance behind China and Japan.
Machettira Raju Poovamma is an Indian sprinter who specialises in the 400 metres distance. As a member of the Indian 4 × 400 m relay teams she participated in the 2016 Olympics and won gold medals at the 2014 and 2018 Asian Games and 2013 and 2017 Asian championships; individually she won a silver medal in 2013 and a bronze in 2014 at those competitions. She received the Arjuna Award in 2015 for her contributions to athletics.
Dutee Chand is an Indian professional sprinter and current national champion in the women's 100 metres event. Chand is the first Indian to win a gold medal in 100 m race in a global competition, and in 2016 took part in the Rio Olympic Games. She is the third Indian woman to ever qualify for the Women's 100 metres event at the Summer Olympic Games. In 2018, Chand clinched silver in women's 100m at the Jakarta Asian Games. It was India's first medal in this event since 1998. Moreover, In 2019, she became the first Indian sprinter to win gold at the Universiade, clocking 11.32 seconds in the 100 m race.
Paramjeet Kaur is an Indian former athlete. She won a gold medal in the women's 4X400m relay in the 2000 Asian Athletics Championships held in Jakarta, Indonesia. She represented India in the Sydney Olympics 2000 in the women's 4X400 relay event. She is the first woman athlete from Rajasthan to represent India in Olympics until 2000. She is also the first woman Olympian from the Indian Revenue Service.
Seaman Muhammed Anas Yahiya is an Indian sprinter who specialises in the 400 metres distance. He competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the 400 metres and the 4 × 400 m relay, and holds the national record (45.24) in the 400 meters, which he set at the 2019 Czech Athletics Championships. And finally he won a gold medal at the men's 4×400 metres relay event at the 2022 Asian Games.
Dharun Ayyasamy is an Indian track athlete. He specialises in the 400 metres and the 400 metres hurdles events. He participated in the 4 × 400 metres relay event at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Anu Raghavan is an Indian sprinter who competes in the 400 metres and 400 metres hurdles events.
Velluva Koroth Vismaya is an Indian athlete from Kerala who specializes in the 400 metres. She was part of the gold-winning Indian team at the 2018 Asian Games.
Subha Venkatesan is an Indian athlete. She competed in the women's 4 × 400 metres relay event at the 2019 World Athletics Championships. In July 2021, she was selected for representing India at the 2020 Summer Olympics in the mixed 4 × 400 metres relay. She was part of the women's 4 × 400 m relay Indian team along with Vithya Ramraj, Aishwarya Mishra and Prachi Choudhary that won silver at the 2022 Asian Games. She also won a silver medal in the 4 x 400m mixed relay event along with Vithya Ramraj, Muhammad Ajmal and Rajesh Ramesh.
K. J. Manoj Lal is an Indian Olympic athlete from Kerala. He was coached by Thankachan Mathew and represented India at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He ran 400 metres in 46.01 seconds. This was bested later by Kerala's K. M. Binu who did it in 45.59 seconds. K. J. Manoj Lal also won silver medals at the 2000 Asian Athletics Championships and 2002 Asian Games for 4 × 400 metres relay.