Indian sprinter
M. R. Poovamma
![]() Poovamma at the 2017 Asian Championships |
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Nationality | Indian |
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Born | (1990-06-05) 5 June 1990 (age 34) Gonikoppal, Karnataka, India[1] |
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Height | 173 cm (5 ft 8 in)[1] |
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Weight | 60 kg (132 lb)[1] |
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Country | India |
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Sport | Athletics |
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Event | 200–800 m |
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Club | Oil and Natural Gas Corporation[1] |
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Coached by | Nagapuri Ramesh[1] |
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Personal best(s) | 200 m – 24.31 (2018) 400 m – 51.73 (2014) 800 m – 2:09.24 (2017)[2] |
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Updated on 21 April 2019 |
Machettira Raju Poovamma (born 5 June 1990) is an Indian sprinter who specialises in the 400 metres distance.[3] 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.[4]
Early life
Poovamma was born to M. G. Raju and Jaji. She completed her primary and higher education in Mangalore[5] and acquired her bachelor's degree in business management from the Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara College of Business Management, Karnataka.[6] Her brother MR Manju also competed in the 400 m events at the national level.[1][7]
Career highlights
Poovamma won a silver medal in the 400 m and a gold in the 4 × 400 m relay at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games. She then won a senior national 400 m title in September 2011 in Kolkata. At the 2012 Asian Grands Prix Poovamma won two gold and a silver medal.[8] She also won a gold medal at the 2013 Asian Grand Prix in Bangkok. Poovamma represented India in the Moscow World Athletics Championships 2013[9] where she was also a part of the women's 4 × 400 m relay team.
She won the gold medal in women's 4 × 400 metres relay at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea along with Tintu Luka, Mandeep Kaur and Priyanka Pawar.[10][11] The team clocked 3:28:68 to break the Games Record. This is India's 4th consecutive gold in the event since 2002.
In 2017 she was part of the winning 4 × 400 m team at the 2017 Asian Athletics Championships in Bhubaneshwar, which also included Debashree Mazumdar, Jisna Mathew and Nirmala Sheoran. The team had a problematic baton exchange, but Nirmala recovered the time in the final leg.[12]
Competition record
Year |
Competition |
Venue |
Position |
Event |
Notes
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Representing India
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2006
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World Junior Championships
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Beijing, China
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7th (h)
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400 m
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56.39
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2007
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World Youth Championships
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Ostrava, Czech Republic
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7th
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400 m
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55.49
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2008
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World Junior Championships
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Bydgoszcz, Poland
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8th (h)
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400 m
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57.94
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Commonwealth Youth Games
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Pune, India
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2nd
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400 m
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55.17
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1st
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4 × 400 m relay
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3:42.02
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2013
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Asian Championships
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Pune, India
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2nd
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400 m
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53.37
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1st
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4 × 400 m relay
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3:32.26
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World Championships
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Moscow, Russia
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5th (h)
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4 × 400 m relay
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3:38.81
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2014
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Asian Games
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Incheon, South Korea
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3rd
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400 m
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52.36
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1st
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4 × 400 m relay
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3:28.68
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2015
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Asian Championships
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Wuhan, China
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2nd
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400 m
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53.07
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2nd
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4 × 400 m relay
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3:33.81
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World Championships
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Beijing, China
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14th (h)
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4 × 400 m relay
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3:29.08
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2016
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Olympic Games
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Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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7th (h)
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4 × 400 m relay
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3:29.53
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2017
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Asian Championships
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Bhubaneswar, India
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4th
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400 m
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53.36
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2018
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Commonwealth Games
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Gold Coast, Australia
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24th (h)
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400 m
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53.72
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7th
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4 × 400 m relay
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3:33.61
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Asian Games
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Jakarta, Indonesia
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1st
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4 × 400 m relay
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3:28.72
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2019
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World Championships
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Doha, Qatar
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11th (h)
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4 × 400 m relay
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3:29.42
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References
External links