Maneyapanda Ashwini Nachappa

Maneyapanda Ashwini Nachappa is one of the famous sportsperson from Kodagu, was born on 21 October, 1967. She is an accomplished former athlete and an Indian film actress. She made her mark by winning several national events and is a truly multi-faceted personality.

Ashwini Nachappa set the tracks ablaze not just with her performances but also her impeccable fashion sense. She was dubbed as the glamour girl of Indian athletics by the media. Her movie career was short but reasonably successful. She won two awards – the Best Newcomer award instituted by the Andhra Pradesh Government and the Tamil Cine Film Critics Award. She played the role of a sportswoman in her first movie.

The former Olympian is actively involved in social work and is an educationist. She is the trustee for an NGO called Parikrama. The NGO works to improve the life of children living in slums as well as orphans. in Bangalore. She was also keen on doing something positive for Kodagu and so launched the Karuambiah Academy for Learning and Sports at Gonikoppal.
The school is part of her mission to instill a strong sporting culture in the rural areas of the country.

After her retirement, she was also associated with the Special Olympics program for 12 years. The program offers year-long sports training to mentally challenged children.
Ashwini Nachappa may have retired from athletics, but the star has far from faded. Her active involvement in social causes and her love for life has kept her firmly in the public eye.

Family

Husband

Maneyapanda Datta Karumbaiah

Children

• Maneyapanda Anisha
• Maneyapanda Deepali

Achievements

• She represented India in three South Asian Federation Games.
• She participated in two Asian Games; one held in 1986 at South Korea and the other in 1990 at Beijing, China .
• She also represented India in two World Championships; one in 1987 in Rome and the other in 1991 in Tokyo.
• She was India’s champion sprinter for the 100 m, 200 m and 400 m events.

National level

• She outran champion P T Usha during the 1991 Open Nationals at New Delhi.

International Level

• She won the gold medal at an international invitation permit meet in New Delhi and her name dominated the Payyoli Express.
• She has participated in four Asian Track and Field Championships and won one gold, three silver and a bronze medal.
• She was selected for the Seoul Olympics,

Awards

• Ashwini Nachappa was honored with Arjuna Award in 1990.
• she received the state Nandi Award for Best Debut Actress
• She also won the Tamil Cine Film Critics Award.

Films

Year	Films	Language
1991	Ashwini	Telugu
1993	Inspector Ashwini	Telugu
1993	Aadarsham	Telugu
1995	Miss 420	Telugu
1996	Andaroo Andare	Telugu