Machettira Raju Poovamma-Athelete

Machettira Raju Poovamma a sportsperson was born on 5 June 1990 is an Indian sprinter who competes in the 400 metres event. Poovamma is a Beijing Olympics 2008 participant and is currently ranked No.2 in Asia in the 400 m category.

Family

Father

M.G. Raju

Mother

Jaji

Education

She completed her primary and higher education in Mangalore and acquired her bachelor’s degree in business management from SDM College of Business Management, Mangalore.

Achievements

• She won Silver in the 400m event at the 2008 Youth Commonwealth Games and Gold in the 4x400m category at the same event. She also participated in Olympics in 2008.
• She stood first at the Open Nationals in September 2011 in Kolkata.
• Poovamma also did extremely well in 2012 in all the three Asian Grands Prix which were held in Bangkok by securing two Golds and a Silver.
• She also won a gold medal at the 2013 Asian Grand Prix in Bangkok.In 2013Asian Athletics championship she won silver in 400Mts and gold in 4 x 400 Relay.
• She set her fastest timing of 52.75s and came 1st at the Federations Cup in Patiala, India in 2013.
• Poovamma represented India in the Moscow World Athletics Championships 2013 where she was also a part of the women’s 4x400m relay team.
• She won the gold medal in women’s 4 x 400 metres relay at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea along with Tintu Luka, Mandeep Kaur and Priyanka PawarThe team clocked 3:28:68 to break the Games Record. This is India’s 4th consecutive gold in the event since 2002.
• In 2017 she was part of the winning 4x400m team who took gold at the 2017 Asian Athletics Championships in Bhubaneshwar. There was a tricky baton exchange but Poovamma recovered the time on the final leg. S
• In 2018 Asian Games she won gold in 4×400 women’s relay and silver in 4x4oo mixed relay.
• In 2019 Asian Athletics Championship she won gold in 400mts,Silver in 4×400 mixed relay and silver in 4×400 women relay.

Awards

• She was conferred the Arjuna Award in 2015 for her contributions in the field of athletics.
• She received the Ekalavya Award in 2008.

Records

• 2006 – World Junior Championships in Beijing China.
• 2007 – World Youth Championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic
• 2008 – World Junior Championships in Poland,
• 2008 – Commonwealth Youth Games in India
• 2013 -Asian Championships in Pune
• 2013 – World Championships in Russia
• 2014 -Asian Games in South Korea
• 2015- Asian Championships in Wuhun,China
• 2015 – world Championships inBeijing, China
• 2016 – Olympic Games in Brazil
• 2017 – Asian Championships in Bhubaneswar, India
• 2018 – Commonwealth Games in Australia