Kumaravel Premkumar

Premkumar was born on 6 February 1993 in Kumbakonam, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. He was one year old when his father died, after which he was raised by his mother, Uma Rani. His mother worked in a local church to provide for the family.{{cite journal | url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/rural-rockstars-kumaravel-premkumar/1/216524.html | title=Rural Rockstars: Kumaravel Premkumar | author=Kumaraswami, Lakshmi | journal=India Today| date=8 September 2012}} He attended St. Antony's School, Thanjavur where physical education teacher Suresh recognised Premkumar's potential and encouraged him to pursue athletics. As a teenager in 2010, Premkumar moved to Chennai to train under coach P. Nagarajan. He joined Pachaiyappa's College Higher Secondary School, and was coached by Nagarajan at the Prime Sports Academy. He passed Higher Secondary Examination in 2012.{{cite news | url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Chennais-Olympics-hopefuls-Kumaravel-Premkumar/articleshow/15322402.cms | archive-url=https://archive.today/20130809134630/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-08-02/chennai/32999949_1_national-record-national-camp-odd-jobs | url-status=live | archive-date=9 August 2013 | title=Chennai's Olympics hopefuls: Kumaravel Premkumar | work=The Times of India | date=2 August 2012 | agency=Times News Network | access-date=9 August 2013 | author=Hardy, James | location=Chennai}}

File:Kumaravel Premkumar long jump progression.png

Premkumar trains with coach P. Nagarajan at St. Joseph's Sports Academy, Chennai. He represented the academy at the 84th Senior State Athletics Championship held in Coimbatore in May 2011, and won a gold medal with a jump of {{convert|7.75|m|ft}}.{{cite news | url=http://www.thehindu.com/sport/athletics/record-double-for-suriya/article2040641.ece | title=Record double for Suriya | work=The Hindu | date=23 May 2011 | accessdate=9 August 2013 | location=Chennai}} He represented Tamil Nadu at the South Zone Junior Athletics Championship held in Chennai in August 2011. He set a new national junior record with {{convert|7.52|m|ft}} and won gold.{{cite news | url=http://www.thehindu.com/sport/athletics/premkumar-jessy-steal-the-limelight/article3799701.ece | title=Premkumar, Jessy steal the limelight | work=The Hindu | location=Chennai | date=21 August 2012 | accessdate=9 August 2013}}

Premkumar participated in the 2012 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships that took place in Hangzhou, China. He won a bronze medal and set the national indoor record with a {{convert|7.62|m|ft|adj=on}} jump. The previous record was held by Maha Singh, who jumped {{convert|7.49|m|ft}} at the 2006 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Pattaya, Thailand.{{cite news | url=http://post.jagran.com/Kumaravel-Premkumar-wins-bronze-in-Asian-Indoor-Athletics-1329588081 | title=Kumaravel Premkumar wins bronze in Asian Indoor Athletics | date=18 February 2012 | accessdate=11 August 2013 | publisher=Jagran Prakashan}} Premkumar was the only Indian to win a medal at the championships. He competed in the 2012 World Junior Championships in Barcelona, Spain and finished 16th in the qualification round with the best jump of {{convert|7.38|m|ft}}, which was not sufficient to qualify him for the final.{{cite web | url=http://www.all-athletics.com/node/594970?results=by-event&event=10229617 | title=Barcelona IAAF World Junior Championships – Competition Results – Men's Long Jump | publisher=All-athletics.com | accessdate=13 August 2013}} He set his personal best of {{convert|8|m|ft}} at the National Inter-State Championships in Chennai in June 2013.{{cite news | url=http://www.indianathletics.in/news.php | title=Prem Kumar and Sudha Singh provides the silver-lining on the third day | date=5 July 2013 | accessdate=11 August 2013 | publisher=Athletics Federation of India | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130805030606/http://www.indianathletics.in/news.php | archive-date=5 August 2013 | url-status=dead }} A month after the championships, Premkumar won a silver medal at the 2013 Asian Athletics Championships in Pune with the best jump of {{convert|7.92|m|ft}}.{{cite news | url=http://sports.ndtv.com/othersports/athletics/210346-sudha-singh-fails-to-win-gold-india-slip-to-6th-in-asian-athletics-championships | title=Sudha Singh fails to win gold, India slip to 6th in Asian Athletics Championships | date=5 July 2013 | agency=Press Trust of India | accessdate=11 August 2013 | location=Pune | publisher=NDTV}}

Premkumar failed to qualify for the 2013 World Championships because his {{convert|8.12|m|ft|adj=on}} jump (more than the 'B' qualifying standard for the championships) at a meet in the United States Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California, was wind assisted beyond the 2 metres per second permissible limit, cancelling out the national record and the qualifying effort.{{cite news | url=http://sports.ndtv.com/othersports/athletics/211114-heartbreak-for-long-jumper-prem-kumar-wind-assisted-812-metres-will-not-count | archive-url=https://archive.today/20130811154932/http://sports.ndtv.com/othersports/athletics/211114-heartbreak-for-long-jumper-prem-kumar-wind-assisted-812-metres-will-not-count | url-status=dead | archive-date=11 August 2013 | title=Heartbreak for long jumper Prem Kumar, wind-assisted 8.12 metres will not count | date=20 July 2013 | agency=Press Trust of India | accessdate=11 August 2013 | publisher=NDTV }}{{cite news | url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/premkumar-jumps-8.09-m-breaks-nineyearold-long-jump-mark/1151611/ | title=Premkumar jumps 8.09 m, breaks nine-year-old long jump mark | work=The Indian Express | date=6 August 2013 | accessdate=13 August 2013 | author=Selvaraj, Jonathan | location=New Delhi}} At the 79th Railways Athletic Championships in New Delhi, he represented Integral Coach Factory team. He won the gold and cleared a distance of {{convert|8.09|m|ft}} in the men's long jump final to erase a nine-year-old national record of {{convert|8.08|m|ft}}, set by Amritpal Singh in 2002 at the 10th Federation Cup Athletics Championships in New Delhi.{{cite news | url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-sports/prem-kumar-leaps-to-a-new-mark/article4994010.ece | title=Prem Kumar leaps to a new mark | work=The Hindu | date=6 August 2013 | accessdate=13 August 2013}}{{cite news | url=http://www.hindu.com/2004/03/17/stories/2004031707572000.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040703105255/http://www.hindu.com/2004/03/17/stories/2004031707572000.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=3 July 2004 | title=Amritpal betters Yohannan record | work=The Hindu | date=16 March 2004 | accessdate=13 August 2013 | author=Mohan, K. P. | location=New Delhi}} Premkumar was declared best athlete of the championships for his record-breaking performance, and was awarded with the Marshal Tito Cup.{{cite news | url=http://www.railnews.co.in/?p=12844 | title=Prem Kumar adjudged Best Athlete in Rlys Championships, subject to dope test clearance | date=9 August 2013 | accessdate=13 August 2013 | location=New Delhi | publisher=RailNews}}

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• {{World Athletics||name=Kumaravel Prem Kumar}}

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Category:Living people

Category:1993 births

Category:People from Thanjavur district

Category:Indian male long jumpers

Category:Athletes from Tamil Nadu

Category:Tamil sportspeople

Category:Asian Athletics Championships medalists