Commonwealth Games gold medallist discus thrower Vikas Gowda retires

Vikas Gowda

Top discus thrower Vikas Gowda yesterday retired after competing at the highest level for more than 15 years, during which he became the first and only Indian male to win a Commonwealth Games medal in the discipline. The retirement of the four-time Olympian, who will turn 35 on July 5, has not come as a surprise as he has not taken part in any major international event since winning a bronze in the Asian Championships last year in Bhubaneswar.

His retirement was announced by the Athletics Federation of India on its twitter page after Gowda sent the AFI a letter, declaring his intent to call it quits. "After a lot of thinking and consulting, I have decided to retire from athletics. I do not want to punish my body anymore and I want to focus on the next phase of my life," said Gowda, who is based in the United States. "It was an honour and privilege to represent India and I will forever miss it." The Mysore-born Gowda's family moved to Maryland, USA just before he turned six.

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