Star discus thrower Vikas Shive Gowda on Friday said that he would compete in fewer competitions as compared to recent years, with his focus on the Rio Games in August.
Star discus thrower Vikas Shive Gowda on Friday said that he would compete in fewer competitions as compared to recent years, with his focus on the Rio Games in August.
“I want to compete a little bit less than I have in the previous years. I am looking to begin competing in a few weeks in July in some competitions in Europe and the main focus is Rio in August,” said Gowda, who trains in the United States.
Gowda is the reigning Commonwealth Games champion in the men’s discus throw, and will participate in his fourth Olympics.
The 32-year-old Mysore-born athlete was brought up in the USA, was the only Indian male athlete to win gold in a track and field event at the Commonwealth Games in the last five decades.
The 6-foot, 9-inch tall Gowda said that his passion for throwing helped him to stay motivated while training alone in the US under former Olympic champion John Godina.
“There are definitely days that are harder than the others, but there is nothing else I would rather be doing,” he said.
The national record holder with a best of 66.28 metres also shared his regime in the US saying, “I usually train five-six days a week. My training consists of throwing, weightlifting, plyometrics (jump training) and cross training.”
