<p>Bengaluru: For much of his childhood, Sayed Sabeer lived in the comfortable cocoon of his grandparents' house in Nandyal, Andhra Pradesh, totally undisturbed by his parents residing in Hubballi. He liked that life, and since he was doing okay, his parents chose not to disturb that arrangement.</p><p>Things then took a sudden turn when he visited his parents after completing seventh grade. While accompanying his father Sayed Suleiman to the Runners Sports Club in Hubballi, a coach there suggested Sayed to try sports. Not that the coach saw anything special in Sayed but felt sports would help him get a seat at the Dharwad Sports Hostel.</p><p>The thought struck Sayed and he instantly took to athletics as that didn’t entail any immediate buying of equipment. His father, a Railways employee, enrolled him at the Dharwad Sports Hostel and that ignited a passion for the 17-year-old who has never looked back since then.</p>.Adieu Kohli. And thanks for your killer instinct.<p>The Karnataka athlete won two medals at the ongoing Khelo India Youth Games in Patna, first bagging a bronze in 400m before securing a silver in the 200m.</p><p>“I should have won the gold in 200m but a bit a carelessness on my part cost me dear,” rued Sayed. “I took a good lead at the start and with no one besides me, I eased up a bit. I didn’t notice Saket (Minj) closing in the gap and by the time I realised he was neck and neck. He then ended up winning by dipping ahead of me.”</p><p>These two medals come after a silver in the men’s sprint medley relay 1000m event at the 6th Asian U-18 Championships in Prince Nayef Sports City, Saudi Arabia. The Indian quartet of P Chiranth, Saket, Kadir Khan and Sayed finished behind powerhouse China.</p><p>“That international race and medal have given me a lot of confidence. I’m just starting and there are a lot of areas I need to improve, from nutrition to technique to scientific training. My focus right now is on 400m because I feel I’m a natural fit there but will simultaneously train and race for 200m too,” added Sayed, a second PUC student of REVA College.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: For much of his childhood, Sayed Sabeer lived in the comfortable cocoon of his grandparents' house in Nandyal, Andhra Pradesh, totally undisturbed by his parents residing in Hubballi. He liked that life, and since he was doing okay, his parents chose not to disturb that arrangement.</p><p>Things then took a sudden turn when he visited his parents after completing seventh grade. While accompanying his father Sayed Suleiman to the Runners Sports Club in Hubballi, a coach there suggested Sayed to try sports. Not that the coach saw anything special in Sayed but felt sports would help him get a seat at the Dharwad Sports Hostel.</p><p>The thought struck Sayed and he instantly took to athletics as that didn’t entail any immediate buying of equipment. His father, a Railways employee, enrolled him at the Dharwad Sports Hostel and that ignited a passion for the 17-year-old who has never looked back since then.</p>.Adieu Kohli. And thanks for your killer instinct.<p>The Karnataka athlete won two medals at the ongoing Khelo India Youth Games in Patna, first bagging a bronze in 400m before securing a silver in the 200m.</p><p>“I should have won the gold in 200m but a bit a carelessness on my part cost me dear,” rued Sayed. “I took a good lead at the start and with no one besides me, I eased up a bit. I didn’t notice Saket (Minj) closing in the gap and by the time I realised he was neck and neck. He then ended up winning by dipping ahead of me.”</p><p>These two medals come after a silver in the men’s sprint medley relay 1000m event at the 6th Asian U-18 Championships in Prince Nayef Sports City, Saudi Arabia. The Indian quartet of P Chiranth, Saket, Kadir Khan and Sayed finished behind powerhouse China.</p><p>“That international race and medal have given me a lot of confidence. I’m just starting and there are a lot of areas I need to improve, from nutrition to technique to scientific training. My focus right now is on 400m because I feel I’m a natural fit there but will simultaneously train and race for 200m too,” added Sayed, a second PUC student of REVA College.</p>