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Former sprinter Shetty dies in road accident

May 21, 2013 15:37 IST

Former international sprinter Anand Shetty, who met with a road accident, succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in Mangalore.

Shetty, 52, hailed from Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka. He started his career as a kabaddi player before turning into a notable sprinter.

He met with an accident two days ago when the car he was travelling in with his wife and daughter was hit by a bus near Kotekar.

He was admitted to a private hospital in Mangalore where he died on Monday morning, Athletics Federation of India said in a release.

After showing his mettle in the junior category, Anand went on to win a sprint double at the senior level in the Open Nationals at Delhi in 1982 and repeated his feat the following year at Jamshedpur by winning the gold medals in both the 100 and 200 metres.

In total, he won nine senior national titles in sprint events during his career.

At the international level, Shetty made his major appearance in the Asian Games held at Delhi in 1982 along with Adille Sumariwalla.

Sumariwalla, the president of Athletics Federation of India (AFI) and a former colleague of Shetty in Telco, expressed his shock on hearing his friend's untimely demise.

"The Athletics Federation of India would like to convey its profound grief and condolences to Anand Shetty's family," the body said.