Sahana Kumari

Sahana Kumari Nagaraj Gobbargumpi (born 6 March 1982) is an Indian athlete who competes in the high jump event. She holds the current national record of 1.92 m.

Sahana Kumari
Personal information
NationalityIndian
Born (1982-03-06) 6 March 1982
Dakshina Kannada, Karnataka, India
Sport
SportTrack and field
Event(s)High jump
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)1.92 meters (Hyderabad 2012) NR
Medal record
South Asian Games
2016 GuwahatiHigh Jump

Personal life

Sahana was born in Kotekar village in Dakshina Kannada, Karnataka. She attended Anandashram High School, Someshwar. She began taking part in different sports like kabaddi, kho kho, and high jump during her school days. According to Sahana, it was her school that "encouraged her to take up sports".[1] She graduated from Sri Gokarnanatheshwara College of Mangalore in 2002.[2] Her elder sister Harshini is also a former athlete and her brother plays volleyball.[3] She learned high jump from her father, who at that time was in Indian Air Force.[4] Sahana’s mother Yashoda used to wake both of her daughters at 4:30 am and send them for training.[5]

She is married to national level athlete B.G. Nagaraj and they have a daughter named Pavana.[6] She is a senior clerk in South Western Railway Zone.[7]

2012 Summer Olympics

Sahana was the last Indian athlete to qualify for the London Games.[8] She earned the B standard Olympic berth at the 52nd National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships held in G. M. C. Balayogi Athletic Stadium, Hyderabad, from 23 to 26 June 2012. She broke an eight-year-old national record of 1.91 m set by Keralite Bobby Aloysius.[6][9]

My coach will offer valuable feedback about my competitors and help me train. I need him to accompany me. But I am a central government employee, with a salary of Rs 25,000. I can’t afford the burden of five lakh.

—Sahana Kumari[10]

Sahana had wanted her Ukrainian coach Nikhil Evgeny to accompany her to the Games but the National Olympic Committee of India, Indian Olympic Association, had only sanctioned a quota of five athletic coaches. The Athletics Federation of India approved chief national athletic coach Bahadur Singh Chouhan, R.K. Gandhi, recommended by three qualified racewalkers, and the personal coaches of Tintu Luka, Vikas Gowda, and Krishna Poonia.[11]

Sahana was unable to reimburse the travelling expenses of her coach. A non-governmental organisation, Ek Aur Prayaas contributed funds for her coach to travel to London.[10][12]

On 8 August 2012, Sahana was eliminated from the women's high jump competition at the Olympic Games when she failed to clear 1.85 m.[13]

References
  1. "Sahana Kumari visits alma mater". Deccan Herald. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  2. "A Mangalorean for Olympics". Deccan Herald. 3 July 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  3. "Athlete – Sahana Kumari". london2012.com. London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  4. Mital, Saloni (7 July 2012). "High jumping Olympic mom". The Indian Express. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  5. Garodi, Brijesh (27 June 2012). "Mangalore: Athlete Sahana Kumari from Ullal Qualifies for London Olympics". Mangalore: daijiworld.com. Daijiworld Media Network. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  6. "College was my launch pad, says Olympian". The Hindu. 11 July 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  7. Rayan, Stan (9 March 2008). "The golden couple". The Hindu. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  8. "London Olympics: I will be happy if athletes improve their records, says Bahadur singh". Zee News. 31 July 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  9. "Sahana Kumari qualifies for London Olympics". The Times of India. 23 June 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  10. Rathnam, Dhamini (17 July 2012). "Indian twitterati give high jumper a leg up". punemirror.in. Archived from the original on 25 February 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  11. Shekhar Luthra, Chander (20 July 2012). "Usha gets the nod, no room for Madhumita". Daily News & Analysis. New Delhi. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  12. "Ek Aur Prayaas thanks all for the supporting – Project high Jump for Olympics 2012". ekaurprayaas.org. Archived from the original on 15 August 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  13. "India's lone woman high jumper Sahana Kumari crashes out of Olympics". Retrieved 9 August 2012.
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