KOCHI: Middle distance runner Sinimol Paulose is in line for the Arjuna Award.
A 15-member jury on Monday recommended the Malayali to the Sports Ministry for the prestigious award in athletics for the year 2008. Sinimol was picked from three athletes shortlisted for the award after a meeting in New Delhi.
The Athletics Federation of India had forwarded the names of shot putter Krishna Punia and quartermiler S Geetha along with Sinimol.
The awards will be officially declared later.
A native of Piravom in Ernakulam district, Sinimol shot to fame winning the bronze medal in the women's 1500 m race in the Doha Asian Games in 2006. In 2008, she returned to Doha to win a double of 800 m and 1500 m gold in the third Asian Indoor Athletics Championships. The year 2007 was a red-letter year, the 26 year old winning the 1500m gold in the Asian Indoor Games at Macau, Asian Athletics Championship at Jordan and in the Asian Grand Prix at Bangkok, Guwahati and Pune.
Sinimol also achieved podium finishes on the European tour in 2008. Her first big achievement was the 1500 bronze in the Asian Indoor Games at Bangkok. She was also part of the Indian contingent that participated in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Currently, the star is undergoing training in Durban, South Africa, in preparation for the Commonwealth and the Asian Games.