Truck driver’s son from Udupi strikes gold at South Asian Games

[email protected] (CD Network)
February 7, 2016

Udupi, Feb 7: An atmosphere of celebration prevailed in a poor household of Chittoo village in Kundapur taluk of Udupi district after 24-year-old Gururaja won a gold medal at the 12th South Asian Games in Guwahati on Saturday.

gururaj

This son of a truck driver made it to the top due to sheer hard work and dedication, despite all the financial hardships the family faced in the village.

He is the fifth among six sons of Mahabala and Paddu Poojary. The entire family was ecstatic after hearing the news of Gururaja winning gold in the 56 kg weightlifting category.

“Gururaja was only interested in sports since his childhood, so we encouraged him. Though sometimes it was difficult to get the money, I somehow managed,” said his father.

Gururaja did his schooling at the Sri Mookambika Temple School and PU College in Kollur. During his PU days, he was interested in wrestling, and learnt it under his coach Sukesh Shetty in Kollur.

The turning point came when he joined the SDM College in Ujire, Dakshina Kannada, for his graduation. It was his coach Rajendra Prasad M. who encouraged him in weight lifting.

“Gururaja used to practise two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening. During competitions, he used to put in two additional hours,” he said. Mr. Prasad coached him for five years until Gururaja got selected for the post of aircraft-man in the Indian Air Force under sports quota. He has been undergoing training in Belagavi for six months.

Gururaja, who spoke over the telephone from Guwahati, said he owed his success to the unstinting support of his parents, and his coach Mr. Prasad.

Comments

A. Mangalore
 - 
Sunday, 7 Feb 2016

He has made our Mangalore proud. Congratulations Dear.There are lots of youths are their like Gururaja. Unfortunately without proper education , finance and proper guidance they could not achieve anything.
Most of them are under the fold of Sangha Pariwar, where their rich leaders sends there own children abroad for education and they use these boys for goondasm in Mangalore.

Suresh kamke
 - 
Sunday, 7 Feb 2016

nice lift, hardwork came to like a fruit.

Manjuran
 - 
Sunday, 7 Feb 2016

really great, working for indian airforce only a big achievement,. clubbing to that he took gold medal in weight lifting, proud to be mangalorean.

Manish Sisodia
 - 
Sunday, 7 Feb 2016

parents really lucky to have this kid, god bless u all

Mahesh
 - 
Sunday, 7 Feb 2016

awesome lift, deserve the golden medal,

Ahmed
 - 
Sunday, 7 Feb 2016

Congratulation Mr. Gururaj... Good Luck ...

Goodman
 - 
Sunday, 7 Feb 2016

Not only a Tuck driver, even a lowest in the man made caste system cam also participate and they are also a human being.
He is in the open society. He can dream and accomplish it.

The constitution is secular, but the people of some sects are making polarization.
The God has not made such division.

Saleem Baigh
 - 
Sunday, 7 Feb 2016

Parents must be proud of him, did a very good achievement.

Koli Fayaz
 - 
Sunday, 7 Feb 2016

excellent, well done all the best keep up the winning movement.

Anwar
 - 
Sunday, 7 Feb 2016

Congrats Gururaj,U have made the country proud.All the best for Olympics.

Rich Muslim Fathers Son(Father in Gulf,Father big business in Mlore) from Mangalore roams in City Center/Forum...hahaha...Wa avasthe marre.Care ijji.

Marali schoolige alla...dakshina kannadada makkalige bekirudu Shale/Colleginalli sari daarige/100% markige.

Just go and see Aloysius/Milagris muslim students mark....hahaha...lagadi pother matha....ONLY JOLLY.

keshava Poojary
 - 
Sunday, 7 Feb 2016

live example for poor family kids, if someone want to get success they dont need anybody, hardwork make them success.

Mahabala
 - 
Sunday, 7 Feb 2016

we are proud of you, a national salute to the brave boy.

Vinith Poojary
 - 
Sunday, 7 Feb 2016

well done boy, keep it up and congratulation.

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News Network
December 15,2025

Udupi, Dec 15: What was meant to be a post-pilgrimage gathering turned tragic in Padukere village of Brahmavar taluk, Udupi district, late Sunday night, when a clash among youths escalated into a fatal assault, leaving one man dead.

The victim has been identified as 30-year-old Santosh Mogaveera, a resident of Padukere.

According to preliminary information, the incident took place during a late-night drinking party involving a group of local youths who had recently returned after completing their pilgrimage to the Sabarimala shrine. An argument reportedly broke out among the group and soon escalated into a violent confrontation.

During the ensuing brawl, Santosh Mogaveera was allegedly assaulted and collapsed at the spot after sustaining serious injuries. He was rushed by local residents to a private hospital in Brahmavar, where doctors declared him dead.

On receiving information, senior police officials, including Brahmavar Circle Inspector Gopikrishna, Kota Police Sub-Inspector Praveen Kumar T, Station ASI Manthesh Jabagoudar, and head constables Pradeep and Ashok, visited the spot and conducted an inspection.

Police have taken four youths into custody in connection with the incident. A case has been registered at the Kota police station, and further investigation is underway to ascertain the exact sequence of events leading to the death.

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News Network
December 5,2025

Mangaluru: In a significant step to curb online hate and intimidation, Mangaluru City Police have registered a suo motu case against multiple Instagram accounts accused of circulating alleged provocative and threatening content.

While monitoring social media activity on Tuesday, Kankanady Town PSI Anitha Nikkam identified the Instagram handle ‘team_targetttt_900’ for posting a hate message alongside images of lethal weapons. Another account, ‘team_nagara_900’, allegedly shared a threatening post targeting activist Bharath Kumdelu, tagging additional pages such as KARAVALI-OFFICIAL.

Several other accounts — including ‘immu_bhai.fan’, ‘target_boy_900’, ‘kings_of_manglore’, ‘team_target_boys.900’, ‘arshad_mangalore’, ‘target_ka19_ullal’, ‘team_target__’, ‘troll_tigersz_900’, ‘tr_group_900’, and ‘team_target_900’ — are also under scrutiny for spreading similar inflammatory material, police said.

Authorities have urged citizens, especially young social media users, to report suspicious pages and avoid engaging with groups that glorify violence or threaten individuals. Online hate can quickly escalate into real-world harm, and police stress that sharing or promoting such content can attract legal consequences.

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News Network
December 20,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 20: The Mangaluru City Police have issued a detailed traffic advisory ahead of the inaugural ceremony of Karavali Utsava, which will be held at the Karavali Utsava Ground on Saturday.

The festival will be inaugurated at 6:00 pm by Dakshina Kannada District Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao. Cultural and public programmes will be held at the venue every evening and will continue until January 2.

According to City Police Commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy, parking of vehicles is strictly prohibited on both sides of the road from Lalbagh to Karavali Utsava Ground. Visitors are requested to park their vehicles only at designated parking areas.

To help the public, traffic signboards and parking guidance flex boards have been installed along the routes leading to the venue. The police have urged commuters and visitors to follow these instructions to ensure smooth traffic movement.

Designated Parking Locations

•    Urwa Market Ground – Cars
•    Gandhinagar Government School (near Press Club) – Two-wheelers and cars
•    Ladyhill Church parking area – Two-wheelers and cars
•    Canara School Ground, Mannagudda – Two-wheelers and cars
•    Thimmappa Hotel premises – Two-wheelers and cars
•    Scout and Guide Bhavana premises (behind Karavali Utsava Grounds) – Two-wheelers
•    Urwa Market Road – Two-wheelers
•    Hat Hill Road – Two-wheelers

The police have appealed to the public to cooperate by following traffic rules and parking guidelines to avoid inconvenience during the festival.

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