After 24 years, Agra sends a champ to Olympics
AGRA: Pinahat village in Bah block of Agra district was in celebration mode on Sunday as local lad and long jumper Ankit Sharma qualified for the Rio Olympics.
So devoted is Ankit to his passion, long jumping , that he did not visit his home for the past four years, because he wanted to give his best to the sport.
The 24-year-old lad’s dream finally came true with good wishes from lakhs of his fans here.
It is after a gap of 24 years that someone from Agra would be participating in the Olympics. Earlier, hockey player Jagveer Singh participated in the Barcelona Olympics in 1992.
Ankit recorded a jump of 8.19 metres at the ongoing Athletics Championships in Kazakhstan on Sunday, winning the gold, creating an Indian national record and securing his place in the Rio Olympics by surpassing the Olympic qualification mark by .04 m.
“He was inclined to long jumping since childhood and had not returned home for the past four years so as not to miss a day of practice while representing Sports Authority of India (SAI) in Bhopal,” said Pravesh Sharma, Ankit’s elder brother.
Presently posted as income tax inspector in Chennai, Ankit Sharma was born on July 20, 1992 and had his initial education at Morena before moving to Bhopal from where he graduated in commerce. The youngest child of teacher Harnath Sharma, Ankit was selected in the income tax department last year.
His mother Mithlesh Sharma is confident that he would give his best performance in the Olympics.
Having won at national level, Ankit was aiming for a place in Indian squad in the forthcoming Olympics at Rio and his dream was fulfilled on Sunday. “We now look forward to the moment when Ankit can win a medal to make his nation proud,” said Pravesh.
“The villagers are celebrating his achievement and look forward to more successes of Ankit in future,” Pravesh said.