ITANAGAR, Oct 17 - Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu today felicitated Joti Mane, who recently became the first athlete from Arunachal Pradesh to win a gold medal in a national championship.
Khandu congratulated Mane on her brilliant feat and said that the entire State was proud of her. He encouraged her to keep practising and bring more laurels for herself and the State.
Mane won the 5000-metre race in the girls� U-20 category in the 31st East Zone Junior Athletics Championship held at Ranchi, Jharkhand, last month.
When informed that she clocked 19.45 minutes to win the gold, Khandu lauded the inborn talent in her and reiterated that raw talent is abundant in youths, particularly those belonging to remote districts of the State. Mane hails from Monigong in the newly created Shi-Yomi district.
Mane admitted that there are many talented athletes in her village, who are eager to take to the track provided basic facilities are made available to them. She attributed her success to her coach, MK Pegu, who has helped her in availing of the training facilities at the Sangey Lhaden Sports Academy here while pursuing her BA degree.
