Seven-year-old K. Dhananjaya of Tirupati shows off the gold and silver medals he won at the 46th Masters National Athletics Championships in Tiruvananthapuram recently. | Photo credit: KV Poornachandra Kumar
Masters athletes from the undivided district of Chittoor (now Tirupati), representing Andhra Pradesh, excelled at the 46th Masters National Athletics Championship 2026 held at the Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium in Tiruvananthapuram, Kerala recently.
The event was managed by Masters Athletics Federation of India, which is affiliated to World Masters Athletics and Asian Masters Athletics. Championship athletes do not fall into the general age category of sports. These sporting events are mainly attended by people in their seventies and above.
K. Dhananjaya (72) of Tirupati grabbed attention by winning gold medal in 300m hurdles and silver in 80m hurdles. He completed the 300m sprint in 1:16:82 seconds and came first at the All India level.
While many of the participants have either served as professional athletes or retired as physical education coaches, Mr. Dhananjaya has no such connection to sports. A fifth class dropout earns a living as a fair-price trader in Tirupati. Furthermore, this septuagenarian had no professional coaching or resources to continue his training.
Other medalists
The oldest among the participants from the state, M. Pushpa Kumari, who competed in the 85+ age category, won gold in hammer throw, silver in javelin throw and bronze in discus throw. Similarly, T. Nirmala (80+), M. Bharathi (70+), B. Neeraja (75+) and L. Suseela (65+) won medals in various categories, according to Chittoor District Masters Athletic Association President L. Suseela.
Published – 10 Feb 2026 20:27 IST