It was ‘Silambam’ that kept 21-year-old K Keerthana engaged to the core since she was a little girl. Her hard work finally bore fruit as she has won two medals, including a gold, at the World Silambam Championship.
Hailing from Ramapuram near Thalavadi, Keerthana is a fourth-year engineering student of a private college in Coimbatore.
Born to Kumar-Jayamma, her parents encouraged her to learn the martial art. “When I showed interest in silambam as a child, my parents did everything they could do to help me learn the same.”
It is worth mentioning that Keerthana was trained under coach Sudhakaran, who showered praise on her achievement.
“She had won gold in her debut tournament,” the coach recalled, adding, “She also shined in the selection tournament, which was held in Kanyakumari district in the first week of September, for the world championship that was held in Malaysia from October 2 to 6.”
Her parents added that they were indeed proud of her daughter’s achievement. “We did not expect our daughter to win two medals. Her achievement has also brought laurels to our hamlet, the inhabitants of which are mostly farmers.”
Talking about the world championship, Keerthana said seven countries including India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Bangladesh took part in the event. “There were more than 500 contestants in different categories. The competitions were really tough.”
She won the gold in ‘kambu veechu’ category and bronze in ‘thodu munai’ category.
Keerthana received a roaring reception from the residents of Ramapuram as they extended a warm welcome to Keerthana on Tuesday evening when she returned from Malaysia.
Following her success, elated Keerthana has now appealed the state government in order to sponsor her to take part in the future world championships.
(With inputs from TNN)