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ALAPPUZHA:Having settled for silver in as many as six events over the past couple of days, Kerala found their voice in canoeing on Wednesday. Nithya Kuriakose led the way as the women’s team finally conquered the Vembanad Lake, clinching two gold medals. Among the more promising stars, Nithya added glamour to Kerala’s medal haul when she defeated Inaocha Devi of Madhya Pradesh to take gold in a close race, with a comfortable lead of 8 seconds in the 500m single canoeing event. The win was sweet revenge for Nithya, because Inaocha had defeated her in the 1000m single canoe on Tuesday. In the Women’s 500m Four Canoeing event, Nithya Kuriakose, Betty Joseph, Athira Shylappan and Subi Alexander team won the gold after defeating Madhya Pradesh. 22-year-old Nithya is pursuing her graduation in St Joseph’s College, Alappuzha.
She won a bronze in the Canoeing and Kayaking World Cup which was held at France last year. In the 2013 Asian championships, she won bronze. This is the first National Games of Nithya. Nithya is a native of Chambakkulam in Kuttanad. Nithya said,
“The training given by coaches U R Abhayan and P K Beroy helped us immensely to win gold in two events. I had only three months of training at the Sports Authority of India centre at Punnamada. The sincere efforts of the coaches and SAI officials helped us to garner glory for the state. They did an excellent job of motivating us and instilled confidence in us. I am grateful to God and them for the victories,” she said.
Kerala coach Abhayan said that, “Nithya is a promising player of our state. All members in the team are from humble backgrounds and don’t have the financial backup to meet their training needs. It’s the sheer hard work and determination of girls that helped the state to win gold. In the last two days, the home team won 7 silver medals and 5 of them achieved by the girls teams.
Compared to the state team, the other teams enjoy the strong support of their states and some of the participants are army-trained. The stamina and fitness levels matter too.
Nithya lost gold in 1000m single Canoeing as her stamina failed her. “We hope to strike gold in the 500m and 200 m events which will be held on Thursday and Friday. If we get financial assistance from the State Sports Ministry, we hope for a rich haul in the upcoming national and international events,” coach Abhayan said.The Men’s 500m Four Kayaking team from Kerala includes Vishnu Reghunath, Prasanna Kumar,
Renjith M and Saju E B team that won the silver. The women’s 500m Doubles Kayaking team includes Minimol K and Anusha Binu that won a bronze.
In the Men’s Four Canoeing event, the host team comprising Simon Singh, Vinu B, Hiran kumar K and Joseph Francis had to suffice with a bronze. The Kerala team have won 2 gold, 7 silver and 3 bronze after 22 events in the Canoeing and Kayaking events that have concluded so far. More medals are expected in the 14 finals remaining in this category where the hosts face stiff competition.