Naganathan Pandi Wiki, Age, Family, Biography & More

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Naganathan Pandi is an Indian athlete who participated in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 22nd Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. He competes in the 400-meter sprint and 4 X 400-meter relay sprints.

Contents

Wiki/Biography

Naganathan Pandi was born on Tuesday, 23 April 1996 (age 26 years; as of 2022) in the Singapuli Patti village in the Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu, India. His zodiac sign is Taurus. He did his schooling at KN High School in Kamuthi, Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu. He used to participate in 1500 metres races during his school days; however, since he belonged to a poor household, he did not have a pair of shoes. He used to run barefoot and worked as a construction worker on weekends and vacations to help his family financially. When he qualified for the district sports tournament, his school gifted him a pair of shoes. He pursued a bachelor of arts degree in history from the Pasumpon Thiru Muthuramalinga Thevar Memorial College in Kottaimedu, Tamil Nadu.

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 7″

Weight (approx.): 65 kg

Hair Colour: Black

Eye Colour: Black

Family

Parents & Siblings

His father’s name is Pandi, and his mother’s name is Panchavarnam. His father is an agricultural farm worker, and his mother is a homemaker. He has 4 siblings.

Naganathan Pandi’s mother, Panchavarnam

Naganathan Pandi’s brother

Wife & Children

He is unmarried.

Career

Naganathan used to participate in different competitions during his college days and even ran 400 metres in around 49 seconds during one of those competitions. He participated in the All-India University Athletic Competition in Bengaluru, Karnataka, which made him eligible to apply for state government jobs under the Sports Quota. He joined Tamil Nadu Police in 2017 as an Armed Reserve Constable after passing the entrance examinations and was posted in Chennai. He completed his duty during the day and trained in the morning and evening. He won the gold at the state police meet in the 2018-2019 season and won the gold medal at the All India Police Meet held at Chandigarh in March 2020 in 400 meters and 4 X 400 meters relay races. He later won the CM Trophy at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai. He won the gold medal in the Indian Grand Prix 1 held in Patiala in January 2021 and Tamil Nadu State Meet held in Sivakasi in February 2021. In March 2021, he participated in the Federation Cup in Patiala, Punjab and won the silver medal in the 400-meter race. He was selected for the national camp in Patiala and trained for 45 days in the camp. He secured third place in the trials and was selected for the 4 X 400 metres relay squad in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics; however, he did not run for the Indian team in the Olympics as other athletes were finalised for the race. He won the gold medal in the 400 meters in the Indian Grand Prix held in Thiruvanthapuram in March 2022. He came 7th in the National Federation Cup held at CH Muhammed Koya Stadium in Thenhipalam, Kerala in April 2022. He participated in 400 metres race in the 7th International Sprint & Relay Cup held at Atatürk University Stadium, Erzurum, Turkey in June 2022; however, he could qualify for the second round. He came 6th in 400 meters race and won the gold medal in the 4 X 400 meters relay race in the National Inter State Senior Athletics Championships held at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai in June 2022. He competed in the World Athletics Championships held at Hayward Field, Eugene, Oregon in the US in a 4 X 400 metres relay race in July 2022; however, the team could not qualify for the second round. He was selected for the 22nd Commonwealth Games in the 4 X 400 metres relay held in Birmingham, and the team finished in 6th place in the tournament.

The Greater Chennai Police family extends best wishes to Tr.Naganathan Pandi, the Armed Reserve Police who is participating in the Olympic games at Tokyo, Japan. We all wish him to return home with success.#chennaicitypolice #greaterchennaipolice #ChennaiPolice pic.twitter.com/uTIWhwqY4D

— GREATER CHENNAI POLICE -GCP (@chennaipolice_) August 4, 2021

Facts/Trivia

He wanted to become an engineer; however, he could not afford the cost of an engineering degree.

After he won gold in the All India Police Meet in 2020, the Police Department allowed him to train full-time and work as a constable only during important occasions.

After he joined Tamil Nadu Police, he trained under the sports in charge, Prabhakaran.

Sub-inspectors of Tamil Nadu Police, Sivalingam and Paul Dominic backed Naganathan during his training.

He took a loan of 5 lakhs after he was posted in Chennai, out of which, he spent 3 lakhs on his personal needs and sent 2 lakhs to his family. In July 2021, Tamil Nadu CM gave him 5 lakhs to prepare for the Olympics.