A big blow for sports

KOCHI: The untimely death of Murali Kuttan, Asian Games medalist, national champion and NIS coach, will be a major setback for the future of the Mercy Kuttan Athletics Academy, a non-profit or

KOCHI: The untimely death of Murali Kuttan, Asian Games medalist, national champion and NIS coach, will be a major setback for the future of the Mercy Kuttan Athletics Academy, a non-profit organisation founded by him and his wife. Murali Kuttan along with his athlete wife Mercy Kuttan, an Arjuna Award winner and national record holder, founded the academy to find promising youth and prepare them for major international competitions.

“Murali’s death is a hard blow as far as the academy is concerned. No other academy in Kerala could achieve such a good result within a short span of time,” says Dr Raju K A, physical education head, Sacred Heart College, Thevara. The academy makes use of the facilities at the Sacred Heart College and the Maharaja’s Stadium, which has a synthetic track for training athletes. The college and its management were a great support for the activities of the academy.

“His efforts and dedication to promote sports resulted in the founding of the academy.  Though many trustees offered support it was mainly Murali and Mercy who were behind it. They had to face many financial burdens to make it operational. But Murali was always optimistic,” he says. The academy now has young athletes who compete at the state and national levels. “Now the future of the academy is in the hands of Mercy and we will support her in all her endeavours,” said Raju.

kochi@expressbuzz.com

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com