The Olympics which start from 5th August, 2016, at Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, will have three Delhi University (DU) students competing in different events. DU is the only university to send three participants to the Olympic Games in the same year.
Lalit Mathur from Sri Guru Nanak Dev Khalsa College will be competing in the ‘4×400 metres relay for men’, Manika Batra and Apurvi Chandela from Jesus and Mary College in ‘table tennis’ and ‘shooting’, respectively.
Lalit who claims to have been the body double for Farhan Akhtar in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag quoted in an interview, “It is a big responsibility. It is scary and I am nervous. I just know I have to do my best.” He is not allowing anything to divert him at this point. “Gold lana hain country ke liye, uski poori koshish hain,” says the Delhi athlete.
Paddler Batra, who has won three golds in the South Asian Games plus two silver and two bronze medals in the Commonwealth Games this year, is a big fan of Sachin Tendulkar. Measuring 130th in world ranking, the Delhi based player is confident she will bag a medal in the Olympics. She had already started working for Indian Oil while being a third year BA programme student at JMC.
Apurvi Chandela has already won a gold medal in the 2014 Commonwealth games at Glasglow. In an interview with DU Beat, she said that she was inspired when Abhinav Bindra won the gold in the 2008 Olympics and that is when she started shooting. Spending a minimum of six hours in training everyday, she likes to spend her free time with her dogs and an occasional book. “Sports is a good field to take up. It helps in all-round development. It keeps you going at all times. It’s important to put in all your effort and do what it takes to reach your goal,” said the youth icon.
DU is proud of such young stars and DU Beat wishes them all the best for the Olympics 2016 and their future endeavours!
Inputs from: Sportskeeda.com, Timesofindia.com
Image credits: newindianexpress.com, Pressreader.com, Konkanworld.com
Arindam Goswami
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