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| Namita Kabat at TAA in Jamshedpur |
Jamshedpur, April 29: Perseverance has paid off for Namita Kabat, a cadet of Tata Athletics Academy (TAA).
The 18-year-old half miler, who hails from Orissa, is among the few athletes from the country who have been picked for the selection trials for Asian Continental team, scheduled in Singapore between May 22 and 23.
A good show and a bit of luck may well win Namita a ticket to the inaugural edition of Youth Olympic Games to be held in Singapore from August 15-25.
Namita’s performance in the just concluded seventh National Youth (Under-18) athletics championship in Coimbatore, won her a berth for the Singapore trials. The three-day meet in Coimbatore attracted 306 athletes (197 boys and 109 girls) from 17 states across the country.
The young runner, who made it to the TAA last year, clinched the 800m gold by clocking 2:18.15. She followed it up by claiming the 1000m top slot with a timing of 2:58.40.
Besides Namita, two other cadets of the TAA returned home with medals. While Ritu Dinekar won the 1000m bronze at 3.01.47, D. Babji managed the third spot in the boy’s 1000m. Babji took 2.34.95 to bag the bronze.
Satnam Singh, coach of the TAA, expressed happiness over the feat of his ward Namita. “She’s an excellent runner. Namita has been performing well in the national and international circuit. I am very hopeful about further exploits by Namita,” he added.
A quick glance at the medal-winning feats include 800m gold in last year’s Asian Youth Games in Singapore, gold in the same event in the 2009 Junior Inter-state athletics championship.
She was also in the Friendship Camp for Youth Olympic Games held in Singapore in December last year.
Singh said both Riru and Babji have returned to the city but Namita is training at a high altitude location near Ooty.
Cadets of the TAA have been on the right tracks as far as picking medals in national and international circuit is concerned.
Academy’s former star runner Sinimole Paulose has several medals, including those won in off-shore competitions. Sinimole represents the ONGC.
