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Athletics

Former India javelin thrower Maria Khalko battles lung disease, debt

Indian javelin throw star of the 1970s, Maria Khalkho, is currently battling huge financial debts and a severe lung disease in the city of Ranchi.

Maria Khalkho Javelin Throw
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Maria Khalkho (Source: National Herald)

By

The Bridge Desk

Updated: 28 Jun 2022 9:56 AM GMT

The Indian javelin throw star of the 1970s, Maria Khalkho, is currently battling huge financial debts and a severe lung disease in the city of Ranchi, Jharkhand.

Khalkho had bagged multiple medals in the national and international levels for India in the 1970s before taking up the role of a coach for budding athletes over the next 30 years of her life. The javelin thrower had dedicated her entire life to the sport and is still unmarried.

Sadly all her efforts towards developing javelin throw in India seems to have mounted to nothing. As per reports, Khalkho is currently gasping for breath due to a lung disease and is completely bed-ridden. Moreover she does not even have any money to buy the required medicines and currently lives with her sister, who is struggling financially as well.

The 64-year-old Maria, who once used to throw the javelin to unheard distances, can not even hold a glass of water herself now. To add to her woes she does not receive any old age pension and is reeling under a debt of more than INR. 1 lakh.

Maria Khalkho had first won the national level javelin throw meet when she was just 8-year-old in 1974. She followed it up with yet another gold in 1975 school meet, before bagging an international gold in Jalandhar in 1975-76.

She turned to coaching in 1980s. Khalkho served as a coach at the Government Training Centre in Mahuadnr from 1988 to 2018 on contractual basis with a salary of mere INR. 8000 to 10,000 per month.

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