Veteran athlete collects money to take part in World Masters Champ

Barrackpore, Aug 7 (UNI) A veteran athlete went from door to door to accumulate funds for participating in the XVII World Masters Athletic Championship at Riccione, Italy, between September 4 - 15.

West Bengal's Haradhan Garai would have to leave for Italy by the end of this month and he needs money to finance the required passage and other expenditures.

''It would have been more comforting for me to earn a medal from the world meet competing in the 5 km and 10 km walk for which I was selected on grounds that I could spend more time for practicing having a sponsor to meet the expenditure,'' Haradhan Garai, former Bengal and All India Ordnance Factories Champion said today, while approaching a civic body for financial help.

The 50-year old athlete, working in a printing department of Metal and Steel Factory here at Ichhapur, not only earned a gold medal eight times in the 20 km and twice in the 10 km walk, annexed silver in the 5 km event from X Asian Veterans' Championship, Okinwa in Japan during Octpber 1998 also competed in the 2001 14th World Veteran Meet at Brisbane and in the 1999 Gateshead World meet in Egland.

Haradhan also created a record performance of 25:45 in a 5-km walk in the 1999 Delhi National Veteran meet in New Delhi.

UNI