Kumaravel Premkumar

June 2, 1993

Thanjavur, Chola Nadu, India

He is the national record-holder in both the indoor and outdoor long jump. As a teenager in 2010, Premkumar moved to Chennai to train under coach P. Nagarajan. He joined Pachaiyappa"s College Higher Secondary School, and was coached by Nagarajan at the Prime Sports Academy. He passed Higher Secondary Examination in 2012. Premkumar trains with coach P. Nagarajan at Saint Joseph"s Sports Academy, Chennai. He represented Tamil Nadu at the South Zone Junior Athletics Championship held in Chennai in August 2011. Premkumar participated in the 2012 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships that took place in Hangzhou, China. The previous record was held by Maha Singh, who jumped 7.49 metres (246 ft) at the 2006 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Pattaya, Thailand. He competed in the 2012 World Junior Championships in Barcelona, Spain and finished 16th in the qualification round with the best jump of 7.38 metres (242 ft), which was not sufficient to qualify him for the final. He set his personal best of 8 metres (26 ft) at the National Inter-State Championships in Chennai in June 2013. Premkumar failed to qualify for the 2013 World Championships because his 8.12-metre (266 ft) jump (more than the "B" qualifying standard for the championships) at a meet in the United States Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California, was wind assisted beyond the 2 metres per second permissible limit, cancelling out the national record and the qualifying effort. At the 79th Railways Athletic Championships in New Delhi, he represented Integral Coach Factory team Premkumar was declared best athlete of the championships for his record breaking performance, and was awarded with the Marshal Tito Cup.

Kumaravel Premkumar

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Background

Premkumar was born on 2 June 1993 in Orthanadu village, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. He was one year old when his father died, after which he was raised by his mother, Uma Rani. His mother worked in a local church to provide for the family.

Education

He attended Saint Antony"s School, Thanjavur where physical education teacher Suresh recognised Premkumar"s potential and encouraged him to pursue athletics.

Career

He is the national record-holder in both the indoor and outdoor long jump. As a teenager in 2010, Premkumar moved to Chennai to train under coach P. Nagarajan. He joined Pachaiyappa"s College Higher Secondary School, and was coached by Nagarajan at the Prime Sports Academy.

He passed Higher Secondary Examination in 2012.

Premkumar trains with coach P. Nagarajan at Saint Joseph"s Sports Academy, Chennai. He represented Tamil Nadu at the South Zone Junior Athletics Championship held in Chennai in August 2011.

Premkumar participated in the 2012 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships that took place in Hangzhou, China. The previous record was held by Maha Singh, who jumped 7.49 metres (246 ft) at the 2006 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Pattaya, Thailand.

He competed in the 2012 World Junior Championships in Barcelona, Spain and finished 16th in the qualification round with the best jump of 7.38 metres (242 ft), which was not sufficient to qualify him for the final.

He set his personal best of 8 metres (26 ft) at the National Inter-State Championships in Chennai in June 2013. Premkumar failed to qualify for the 2013 World Championships because his 8.12-metre (266 ft) jump (more than the "B" qualifying standard for the championships) at a meet in the United States Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California, was wind assisted beyond the 2 metres per second permissible limit, cancelling out the national record and the qualifying effort. At the 79th Railways Athletic Championships in New Delhi, he represented Integral Coach Factory team

Premkumar was declared best athlete of the championships for his record breaking performance, and was awarded with the Marshal Tito Cup.

Achievements

He won a bronze medal at the 2012 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships and a silver at the 2013 Asian Athletics Championships. He represented the academy at the 84th Senior State Athletics Championship held in Coimbatore in May 2011, and won a gold medal with a jump of 7.75 metres (254 ft). He set a new national junior record with 7.52 metres (247 ft) and won gold. He won a bronze medal and set the national indoor record with a 7.62-metre (250 ft) jump. Premkumar was the only Indian to win a medal at the championships. A month after the championships, Premkumar won a silver medal at the 2013 Asian Athletics Championships in Pune with the best jump of 7.92 metres (260 ft). He won the gold and cleared a distance of 8.09 metres (265 ft) in the men"s long jump final to erase a nine-year-old national record of 8.08 metres (265 ft), set by Amritpal Singh in 2002 at the 10th Federation Cup Athletics Championships in New Delhi.

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