Kavali Ratna conferred on septuagenarian athlete Manikala Ramasubbamma

NELLORE: Proving that age is just a number, a septuagenarian athlete Manikala Ramasubbamma is planning to take part in an upcoming sports meet in Argentina. She had participated in various events held at Nellore, S Kota (Visakhapatnam), Nasik, Mangalore etc., and bagged eight gold medals without any formal training. Sub-collector Ch Sridhar presented the Kavali Ratna award to the veteran athlete.

Speaking on the occasion, he said it is indeed a moment of pride for people of Kavali as Ramasubbamma hails from the same town. He further said that steps would be taken to construct a town hall in Kavali for conducting local programmes. Kavya Charitable Trust chief Daggumati Venkata Krishna Reddy announced `1 lakh to help Ramasubbamma participate in the sports meet in Argentina and `10 lakh donation for the construction of town hall.

Veteran leads by example

• Manikala Ramasubbamma bagged several medals in walking, running, shot put and javelin throw
• She said that her husband Malakondaiah retired as a head cook from a local degree college 20 years ago and he had been suffering from age-related ailments. But that doesn’t stop her from attending events across the country
• She has a daughter and one son, who are now teachers in government schools
• She won many awards in the national events organised by the Masters Athletics Federation of India (MAFI)

Rewriting her own records

• Ramasubbamma is past her prime, age-wise only it seems, as she is winning medals in the meets for veteran athletes
• She is warming up to create a new record at the sports meet to be held in Argentina
• Age is no barrier to perform wonders. It is the commitment that matters, says Ramasubbamma
• Sub-collector Ch Sridhar says, “The veteran athletes were shining examples to our youth. It’s time they follow their way.”