Sreesanth, Anju honoured, CM hopeful to rope in lewis

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 9 (UNI) Kerala will continue its efforts to get legendary sprinter Carl Lewis for training athletes in the state with an aim of winning Olympic medals, Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan said.

He was speaking at a function organised here to honour cricketer Sreesanth for his performance in South Africa and Asian Games medal winners, including high-jumper Anju Boby George.

Sreesanth was honoured with a gold coin weighing ten sovereigns and others with cash awards and mementos.

The Chief Minister said the Government was committed to provide facilities for expert training for its athletes.

''Efforts are already on to bring Carl Lewis for training budding sports persons in the state,'' he added.

He said efforts would be made to analyse the setbacks suffered by the state in the sports front. The funds collected from the recently launched sports lottery would be utilised for developing sports infrastructure in the state. Steps were also being taken to set up a football academy at Malappuram.

UNI