Indian Discus thrower retires after an illustrious career at the top level
athVikas Gowda will be remembered for many reasons, not only because the Discus thrower won many accolades for our country in many major events, but also because he was India's poster boy in track and field events for the past decade. The fact that the Mysore-born called it a day just a few months before the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games came as a shock to many, but lack of participation in major tournaments since the 2016 Rio Olympics and an ailing shoulder injury may have influenced the decision. Speaking to The Times of India from Maryland, USA, he said, "I was planning to retire after the Asian Games but last week I realized that my body is not responding to training. I was throwing in the region of 61-62m and I was not happy with that. With more load, I could have improved up to 64m but I didn't want to punish my body anymore." Source: Indian Express Thereafter, he participated in 2008, 2012 and also the 2016 edition of the Olympics. But for the 6 feet 9 inches man, the highlight of his career came during his participation in the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games. During the 2010 New Delhi Commonwealth Games, Vikas bagged a Silver medal with a throw of 63.69 metres. The Guangzhou Asian Games in 2010 itself was another big achievement for the athlete claiming a Bronze medal position with a throw of 63.13 metres. But for the 'Big Man', the best was yet to come. Gowda won the Gold medal in the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games thus becoming the second Indian to win an Athletics gold after Milkha Singh won the Men's 440 yards at the 1958 Cardiff Commonwealth Games. Enter 2015, the experienced campaigner managed to defend his Asian Championships Gold medal in Wuhan, China and also finished at the 9 th spot in the World Championships. But the 2016 Rio Olympics was the start of a downfall for the Indian, failing to qualify to the main rounds of the meet. By then, the shoulder injury was becoming a major worry and a knee injury soon followed.
Gowda lived in the United States since he was six and completed his higher education from the University of North Carolina. He simultaneously managed his quest to become a successful athlete making his mark in the 2002 World Junior Championships which was held in Jamaica. His big break came in 2004 when he qualified for the Athens Olympics, finishing at the 15th spot. A year later, he earned a Silver medal in the Asian Championships held in Incheon. The beginnings
The 2017 Asian Championships was the last major tournament he participated in, where he failed to defend his Gold medal. After that, he never regained his lost touch and consecutively performed below par at his practice sessions. It was mainly due to this reason that he decided not to take part in the trials for the Asian Games."After a lot of thinking and consulting I have decided to retire from athletics. I do not want to punish my body anymore and I want to focus on the next phase of my life," said Gowda in an AFI release.