Machettira Raju Poovamma (born 5 June 1990) is an Indian sprinter who specialises in the 400 metres distance.[3] As a member of the Indian 4 × 400 m relay teams she participated in the 2016 Olympics and won gold medals at the 2014 and 2018 Asian Games and 2013 and 2017 Asian championships; individually she won a silver medal in 2013 and a bronze in 2014 at those competitions. She received the Arjuna Award in 2015 for her contributions to athletics.[4]

M. R. Poovamma
Poovamma at the 2017 Asian Championships
Personal information
NationalityIndian
Born (1990-06-05) 5 June 1990 (age 34)
Gonikoppal, Karnataka, India[1]
Height173 cm (5 ft 8 in)[1]
Weight60 kg (132 lb)[1]
Sport
CountryIndia
SportAthletics
Event200–800 m
ClubOil and Natural Gas Corporation[1]
Coached byNagapuri Ramesh[1]
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)200 m – 24.31 (2018)
400 m – 51.73 (2014)
800 m – 2:09.24 (2017)[2]
Medal record
Representing  India
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2014 Incheon Women's 4 × 400 m
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Incheon 400 m
Gold medal – first place 2018 Jakarta Women's 4 × 400 m
Gold medal – first place 2018 Jakarta Mixed 4 × 400 m
Asian Championships
Gold medal – first place 2013 Pune Women's 4 × 400 m
Silver medal – second place 2013 Pune 400 m
Silver medal – second place 2015 Wuhan 400 m
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Doha 400 m
Silver medal – second place 2015 Wuhan Women's 4 × 400 m
Silver medal – second place 2019 Doha Women's 4 × 400 m
Silver medal – second place 2019 Doha Mixed 4 × 400 m
South Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2016 Guwahati 400 m
Updated on 21 April 2019

Early life

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Poovamma was born to M. G. Raju and Jaji. She completed her primary and higher education in Mangalore[5] and acquired her bachelor's degree in business management from the Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara College of Business Management, Karnataka.[6] Her brother MR Manju also competed in the 400 m events at the national level.[1][7]

Career highlights

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Poovamma won a silver medal in the 400 m and a gold in the 4 × 400 m relay at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games. She then won a senior national 400 m title in September 2011 in Kolkata. At the 2012 Asian Grands Prix Poovamma won two gold and a silver medal.[8] She also won a gold medal at the 2013 Asian Grand Prix in Bangkok. Poovamma represented India in the Moscow World Athletics Championships 2013[9] where she was also a part of the women's 4 × 400 m relay team.

She won the gold medal in women's 4 × 400 metres relay at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea along with Tintu Luka, Mandeep Kaur and Priyanka Pawar.[10][11] The 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 4 × 400 m team at the 2017 Asian Athletics Championships in Bhubaneshwar, which also included Debashree Mazumdar, Jisna Mathew and Nirmala Sheoran. The team had a problematic baton exchange, but Nirmala recovered the time in the final leg.[12]

Competition record

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing   India
2006 World Junior Championships Beijing, China 7th (h) 400 m 56.39
2007 World Youth Championships Ostrava, Czech Republic 7th 400 m 55.49
2008 World Junior Championships Bydgoszcz, Poland 8th (h) 400 m 57.94
Commonwealth Youth Games Pune, India 2nd 400 m 55.17
1st 4 × 400 m relay 3:42.02
2013 Asian Championships Pune, India 2nd 400 m 53.37
1st 4 × 400 m relay 3:32.26
World Championships Moscow, Russia 5th (h) 4 × 400 m relay 3:38.81
2014 Asian Games Incheon, South Korea 3rd 400 m 52.36
1st 4 × 400 m relay 3:28.68
2015 Asian Championships Wuhan, China 2nd 400 m 53.07
2nd 4 × 400 m relay 3:33.81
World Championships Beijing, China 14th (h) 4 × 400 m relay 3:29.08
2016 Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 7th (h) 4 × 400 m relay 3:29.53
2017 Asian Championships Bhubaneswar, India 4th 400 m 53.36
2018 Commonwealth Games Gold Coast, Australia 24th (h) 400 m 53.72
7th 4 × 400 m relay 3:33.61
Asian Games Jakarta, Indonesia 1st 4 × 400 m relay 3:28.72
2019 World Championships Doha, Qatar 11th (h) 4 × 400 m relay 3:29.42
2024 Olympic Games Paris, France 15th (h) 4 × 400 m relay 3:32.51

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Poovamma Raju Machettira. asiangames2018.id
  2. ^ M. R. Poovamma at World Athletics  
  3. ^ "Poovamma, India's newest quarter-miler". The Indian Express. 25 April 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  4. ^ "MR Poovamma, Asian Games Medallist, Gets Two-Year Ban By Anti-Doping Appeal Panel". www.outlookindia.com/. 20 September 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  5. ^ "Poovamma – Youngest Indian athlete in Beijing". Mangalorean. 2 September 2008. Archived from the original on 15 October 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  6. ^ "Confident Poovamma eyes more glory". Daily Pioneer. 4 August 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  7. ^ Poovamma Raju MACHETTIRA. gc2018.com
  8. ^ "Athletics: Hat-trick for Poovamma". The Hindu. 13 May 2013.
  9. ^ Poovamma, M.R (21 July 2013). "Ashwini, Poovamma in Indian relay squad for Moscow World Championships". Mangalore Today.
  10. ^ "Indian eves clinch 4x400m relay gold at Asian Games 2014; set new Asiad record". India.Com. 2 October 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  11. ^ "search Medals". 2014 Asian Games Official website. Archived from the original on 2 October 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  12. ^ "Asian Athletics Championships 2017: Deconstruction of the gold standard". The Indian Express. 12 July 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
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