In his mid sixties, B. Syama Sundara Rao not only runs but wins medals in State and National meets. When he was young he participated in the National championships and won medals in spite having the handicap of loss of hearing. In the competitions for physically challenged (hearing impaired) he ruled the roost for many years.
He is past his prime, age wise only it seems, as he is winning medals in the meets for veteran athletes. The latest is a remarkable feat as he rewrote his own record in the 100 M sprint in the Indian masters athletics.
In the last year’s meet he clocked 14.01 seconds and in this year’s championships held at Mangalore, Syama Sundara Rao finished the race in 13.86 seconds. He also won bronze medal in high jump.
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“I suffered a muscle pull when I finished 90 meters which pushed the time up. I could not participate in the 200 M race due to pain in my leg and in high jump too it has bothered me.
There was a three way tie for first place and I was declared third on number of fouls”, he said.
A retired employee of Visakhapatnam Port Trust, Syama Sundara Rao has been running for the last 45 years and won more than 200 gold medals in different age groups and in meets for hearing and speech impaired, open and masters meets.
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He had also participated in meets in foreign countries till 1997.