Mangalore: Former sprint champion Anand Shetty dies in accident

Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (SP)

Mangalore, May 21: International athlete from the district, Anand Shetty, suffered grievous injuries in a road accident and passed away in a private hospital in the city on Tuesday May 21. He was 52.

He met with an accident on Saturday May 18 and was admitted into a hospital with serious injuries.

The accident occurred after the car in which he was travelling was hit by a bus near Kotekar. His wife and daughter also suffered injuries in the accident.

Anand Shetty, who had initially emerged as a promising Kabaddi player, had represented the country in a number of national and international events both in junior and senior levels. A former national sprint champion, he had specialized in short distance races like 100 and 200 metres.

After showing his mettle in the junior category, Anand went on to win a 'sprint double' at the senior level in the Open Nationals at Delhi in 1982 and repeated his act again next year at Jamshedpur by winning the gold medals in 100 and 200m runs.

In total he won nine senior national titles in sprint events during his career.

At the international level, Shetty made his major appearance in the Asian Games held at Delhi in 1982 along with Adille Sumariwalla.

Adille, the President of AFI and former colleague of Shetty in Telco, expressed his shock on hearing his friend's untimely demise.

"The Athletics Federation of India would like to convey its profound grief and condolences to Anand Shetty's family," the body said.

In the evening, Anand Shetty's body was brought to Mangala Stadium where a large number of people gathered to pay him final respects.

Minister for health U T Khadar, forest minister Ramanath Rai, former MLA Yogish Bhat were among those who bid him farewell.

With PTI Inputs