Sahana Kumari Nagaraj Gobbargumpi (born 6 March 1982) is an Indian

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

who competes in the

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

event. She holds the current national record of 1.92 m.

Personal life

Sahana was born in Kotekar village in

Dakshina Kannada Dakshina Kannada district is a district of Karnataka state in India, with its headquarters in the coastal city of Mangalore. It is part of the larger Tulu Nadu region. The district covers an area nestled in between the Western Ghats to its east ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

. She attended Anandashram High School, Someshwar. She began taking part in different sports like kabaddi, kho kho, and high jump during her school days. According to Sahana, it was her school that "encouraged her to take up sports". She graduated from Sri Gokarnanatheshwara College of

Mangalore Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka–Ker ...

in 2002. Her elder sister Harshini is also a former athlete and her brother plays

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

. She learned high jump from her father, who at that time was in

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

. Sahana's mother Yashoda used to wake both of her daughters at and send them for training. She is married to national level athlete B.G. Nagaraj and they have a daughter named Pavana. She is a senior clerk in

South Western Railway Zone The South Western Railway (SWR) is one of the 19 railway zones in India, headquartered at Hubballi in Karnataka State. SWR was created from carving out the routes from Southern Railways, South Central Railways and Central Railways in 2003. H ...

2012 Summer Olympics

Sahana was the last Indian athlete to qualify for the London Games. She earned the B standard Olympic berth at the 52nd National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships held in

G. M. C. Balayogi Athletic Stadium Ganti Mohana Chandra Balayogi Athletic Stadium, formerly known as the Gachibowli Athletic Stadium ( te, జి. ఎం. సి. బాలయోగి అథ్లెటిక్ స్టేడియం), is a multipurpose stadium situated in ...

, Hyderabad, from 23 to 26 June 2012. She broke an eight-year-old national record of 1.91 m set by Keralite

Bobby Aloysius Bobby Aloysius (born 22 June 1974) is an Indian athlete from Kerala, who competes in the high jump event. Currently, she is residing in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. She held the Indian and South Asian records in high jump between 1995 and 2012 o ...

. Sahana had wanted her

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

coach Nikhil Evgeny to accompany her to the Games but the

National Olympic Committee A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games ...

of India, Indian Olympic Association, had only sanctioned a quota of five athletic coaches. The

Athletics Federation of India The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) is the national governing body for Athletics sport in India, and is responsible for conducting competitions in the country. It was formed in 1943. It is affiliated to World Athletics and Asian Athletics A ...

approved chief national athletic coach

Bahadur Singh Chouhan Bahadur Singh Chauhan, born on 8 February 1946 in a Sikh Rajput family is a former Indian shot putter. Between 1973 and 1985 he won three gold, two silver and three bronze medals at the Asian Games and Championships. He placed 15th at the 198 ...

, R.K. Gandhi, recommended by three qualified racewalkers, and the personal coaches of

Tintu Luka Tintu Luka (born 26 April 1989) is an Indian track and field athlete, who predominantly competes in the middle-distance running events. Born in Valathode, Kerala, she is the national record holder in the women's 800 metres. Luka represented In ...

Vikas Gowda Vikas Shive Gowda (born 5 July 1983) is an Indian discus thrower and shot putter. Born in Mysore, he grew up in Frederick, Maryland in the United States. His father, Shive Gowda, coached the 1988 Indian Olympic track team. Vikas Gowda is a Padm ...

, and

Krishna Poonia Krishna Poonia (born 5 May 1977) is an international gold-medalist Indian discus thrower, track-and-field athlete, 2 times Olympics participant, Padma Shri and Arjuna Award recipient, politician from Congress party and the current MLA from S ...

. Sahana was unable to reimburse the travelling expenses of her coach. A non-governmental organisation, ''Ek Aur Prayaas'' contributed funds for her coach to travel to London. On 8 August 2012, Sahana was eliminated from the women's high jump competition at the Olympic Games when she failed to clear 1.85 m.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kumari, Sahana Living people 1981 births Indian female high jumpers 21st-century Indian women 21st-century Indian people Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for India People from Dakshina Kannada district Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Sportswomen from Karnataka Athletes from Karnataka Asian Games competitors for India South Asian Games gold medalists for India South Asian Games medalists in athletics Commonwealth Games competitors for India