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Residence Hyderabad, AP, India Nationality Indian
Occupation Athlete
Employer Indian Railways
Spouse(s) Vasanthi Neelapu
Children Puneeth, Lalith
Parents Chitti Reddy Neelapu
Hamsamma
Early life Neelapu Rami Reddy was born on 1 June 1965 at Pedda Waltair, Andhra Pradesh to Chitti Reddy Neelapu and Hamsamma. He studied at the Kotak School and graduated in arts from Alaya College Hyderabad Rami Reddy lost his army captain father when just six months old and was brought up by his mother. In the beginning he was encouraged by Ramanjaneya Raju, the physical education teacher at KDPM High School, Pedda Waltair, and Visakhapatnam. He took part in an Independence Day athletic meet in the 100-metre sprint and won hands down. Raju then sent him for inter-school, district level and rural meets, where Rami Reddy was way above the rest. Rami Reddy Admission to the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP) Hostel in its first batch of 1980 proved to be a big boon for him and opened his eyes to the athletics advancements. Under proper guidance, his performances spiraled, evident from his 10.8 seconds finish for gold in the all-India schools meet in Pune, where he clocked 22.3 seconds in the 200 meters, also for gold.
National Games
With none posing a serious challenge to him in the state, he had a golden double in the 100 and 200 meters in the rural Nationals at Gumla, Bihar, winning by handsome margins, but barefoot, for he could ill afford to buy spiked shoes. Setting out from standing starts was another handicap but he had little access to athletic innovations.
By now winning had become commonplace and Rami Reddy looked for stiffer competition. In the1979 junior Nationals at Bangalore, he recorded a golden double in the short sprints with an encore in the next edition of the meet at Calicut, Kerala. In the CBM meets of 1981, 82, 83, he clinched the individual champion title with triumphs in the short sprints, the long and triple jump. So did he play a key role in the 4 x 100 meters relay too.
Into his first senior National in 1984, Reddy clocked the same timing as Adille Sumariwala, but in the absence of photo finish recording equipment, the latter was adjudged gold medallist for a close chest finish. By now Reddy had resolved to break the decade-long dominance by the Maharashtra sprinter, then employed by the Tata’s. In the 1985 National Games, he defeated Sumariwala, who realizing his reign was at an end, gave up athletics altogether.
From 1985 to 91, it was between Reddy and good friend Anand Shetty of Karnataka. If Shetty won the 100 meters, one could be sure Rami Reddy would exact revenge in the 200 meters or vice versa.
International Games At the South Asian Federation (SAF) Games in Dhaka, he clocked 21.01 seconds in the 200 meters, setting a new meet record. Two silvers in international meets at Delhi the following year found him competing in the German circuit, where he was declared the best athlete on account of his golden doubles at Leipzig and Zera. Joining South Central Railway, he was soon off to Olomoc, Czechoslovakia for the World Railway Games in 1985, where he clinched bronze in the 200 meters. That year proved pretty productive as he bagged a silver in the International Permit meet in Delhi and made the final of the Asian Track and Field meet in Jakarta, Indonesia, clocking his career best 21.2 seconds in the 200 meters. His all-time best was still to come though.
Current Career
After he hung up his boots in 1994, he was made athletics chief coach by SCR and sprints coach of the Indian Railways, serving in these posts to date. In the latter capacity, he accompanied the Indian Railway squad to Olomoc, where his side finished overall runner-up. It goes largely to his credit that sprinters from Indian Railways have been dominating national competition for over a decade or two.