At 103, she still clocks little over a minute, to complete the 100 mt sprint, giving many younger than her a tough time to the finishing line.
Meet Man Kaur, the oldest and the fastest centenarian woman athlete in the country, who still does India proud by winning medals in the World Masters Athletics Championships. In Poland this year, she has won gold medals in 100 mt, 200 mt, javelin throw and shot put.
In her career so far, Man Kaur, a resident of Patiala in Punjab, she won 31 international gold medals and over 13 national golds. And there is no stopping her.
“Changa daud raha hu, ruk na kyun bhai” (I am running well, why should I stop?) she said.
Man Kaur was here on Thursday, on an invitation from Sri Prakash Vidyaniketan, to participate in a run on Beach Road to create awareness on ‘Fit India - Fit Children’ programme, organised by the institution. She is now preparing for the next World Masters meet.
In a chat with The Hindu , the centenarian, said, “Mujhe sports pasand hai, aur har kudi ko accha khana kha na hai aur khel khud me bhag na hai” (I like sports and every girl child should eat healthy food and participate in sporting activity).
Totally, averse to junk food, she said that if girls eat healthy food in the formative years, they will not have any health issues in the later part of life.
Fit as a fiddle
Fit as a fiddle, she has no chronic ailment and her HB count is 13 plus.
Motivated by her octogenarian son Gurdev Singh (83), who was an athlete and now a regular in the Masters meet (veterans), she took to athletics at the age of 93. According to her, there is no age limit in trying out something new. “I have started running and throwing javelin at the age of 93,” she said.
Breaking records has been her unique feature, said her son Gurdev.
“In 2016 at the American Masters Meet, she clocked 1.21 minutes in the 100 mt sprint. In 2017, at New Zealand she bettered it to 1.17 minutes,” said Gurdev.
Great inspiration
For Man Kaur, her son is not only an inspirational figure, but also her coach and trainer.
He takes care of her diet and training. “My son accompanies me wherever I go, and he cooks for me. People should learn from him how to take care of their parents,” she said.
Ms. Man has two sons and a number of grandchildren and great grandchildren, but there is no stopping her zeal to push herself to the limits of physical endurance.
