Mallick bags gold, silver

Mallick made Orissa pround by bagging a gold and a silver medal in the 4th Children of Asia International Sports Games in Yakutsk, Russia. Bhubaneswar sprinter Amiya claimed the gold in 100 metre dash, clocking 11.2 seconds. He followed it with the silver in 200 metre sprint with a personal best timing of 21.71 seconds (previous best 21.91). Amiya could have bagged a double had the climate not been extreemely cold. He is expected to return home on July 16. Achieving international success is nothing new for Amiya, who earlier this year secured a silver in the Junior SAF Games at Colombo. A Plus Two first year commerce student of DAV Public School, Chandrasekharpur, Amiya won the under-16 100 metre titles both at the East zone and National meets last year. Similar success in National School Games and Junior Federation Cup meet has established him as one of the promising sprinters of the country. Son of government employee Arakhita Mallick, Amiya has been showing rapid improvement after coming under the tutelage of state government coach Nilamaini Deo, four years ago. He spends three hours a day for his training at the Kalinga Stadium here.