If you catch D. Padmanabha Kumar on the streets jogging near Mahaveer (Pumpwell) Circle in the early hours of the day, chances are you will ignore the outspoken advocate.
Not if you know that the 58-year-old Mangalorean recently returned from Sri Lanka with three medals in sprint event meant for those aged above 55.
He is among a group of people from the district who have done well in the ‘Ritzbury Merchantile Athletic Championship’ held at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium at Diyagama.
Mr. Kumar, a member of the Gold Lion Club of the city, took two gold medals in 100 metres and 200 metres races clocking 13.01 seconds and 28.03 seconds respectively and took silver in the 400 metres sprint event (1 minutes 02 seconds).
He is very proud of his 100-metre race and says, “My timings match that of most youngsters in sprint events.”
The athlete in Mr. Kumar, who has three children, thinks regular exercise cannot be skipped. He alternates between jogging, swimming, playing volleyball to keep himself fit. Sometime he takes a 10-km walk. He says he can dive from the 30 ft high board in swimming pool and reach the other end underwater.
Helping people in distress is something he loves. A person, whom many thought was dead after an accident, is alive today because of Mr. Kumar’s swift action in reaching him to the hospital. Also, he has a certificate that shows he has saved the life of an athlete in a sports-meet with his timely action.
Mr. Kumar is happy that the others who went with him from the district too have bagged medals. They are Prafulla Rai of Puttur, Ramayya of Panja, Kusuma Muttutaje of Sullia and Vedavathi of Puttur.
On his part, Mr. Kumar has set his eyes on a couple of forthcoming events for seniors in Japan and Malaysia.