Achinto Pramanik will once again prove that age is only a number when it comes to stamina and endurance.
The 68-year-old master athlete who has claimed medals for Jharkhand in national competitions will lead a bicycle rally on July 18 to spread awareness about the importance of taking jabs for Covid-19. The rally being organised jointly by Masters Athletics Association, Jharkhand and Adventure Athletics Group (AAG) will cover 80 km (up and down) to Chandil in Seraikela-Kharsawan district.
The team with 30 adventure enthusiasts will cross villages falling in the Chandil sub-division. The rally will start from Gamharia in Seraikela-Kharsawan at 6am on July 18.
"People living in villages are still circumspect about taking vaccines for Covid. We thought of taking out a bicycle rally to try and make the rurals understand that taking vaccines are safe and life saving. We have ordered 1,000 pamphlets highlighting the benefits of taking vaccines for Covid. The pamphlets will be distributed among the villagers," Pramanik said.
The sexagenarian, who runs a grocery shop near his home in Gamharia, added each member of the cycle rally will sport T-shirts. "I own a racing cycle with gears but rally members can ride ordinary cycles. We will take a bath at Chandil dam and also enjoy lunch. We will return to Gamharia in the evening," Pramanik told The Telegraph Online.
The master athlete is gearing up for the bicycle rally at his home. "I pedal for an hour at home. My racing cycle is in good condition and I am eagerly waiting for the rally to kick-start,"Pramanik said.
Pramanik also led a 20-member team which ran all the way to Deori temple along the Jamshedpur-Ranchi NH 33 last year to spread awareness about the dos and don'ts on Covid safety. Adventure vAthletics Group has also organised similar runs to Calcutta, Puri, Rajrappa, Dalma hills and Hathikheda temple in East Singhbhum to spread awareness about pollution, cleanliness and environment.
Pramanik’s daily fitness regime includes a 20-km run, gym visits, besides trekking the Dalma hills periodically. Running comes to him from within.
He secured first position in the 25-km run under-65 and above age category at the fifth edition of Tata Steel Kolkata 25k run-a-thon in December, 2018. The lanky athlete finished the race in 2:09:15 seconds to walk home with a medal and Rs 20,000 cash prize.
He has also claimed a gold (200m steeplechase), silver (800m) and bronze (1500m) at the national event held in Panjim, Goa in 2015. He also slotted home three golds (200m steeplechase, 800m and 1500m) and a silver (4x400 m relay) at the national meet held in Hyderabad in 2017.
He also won silver in a virtual marathon event held in November last year.
He has missed representing the country in international masters’ athletics competitions for not being able to find a sponsor. Yet, he continues to participate in national events and win medals for Jharkhand.
