Two athletes die as bike hits divider

Bhubaneswar: Two promising young athletes from Odisha died after their motorcycle hit a road divider on NH-16 between Kataka and Bhubaneswar, police said on Thursday. The deceased have been identified as Mrutyam Jayaram Dondapati (21) and Malaya Barik (20).

They were returning to Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar after witnessing Durga Puja celebrations in Kataka when the accident took place around 11 pm on Wednesday, police said.

The two athletes were rescued by police and locals and taken to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Kataka, where doctors declared them dead. Dondapati was emerging as one of India’s fastest under-23 sprinters, while Barik was a promising 400-metre runner. Both were undergoing professional training at the Kalinga Stadium High-Performance Centre in Bhubaneswar.

Their deaths have sent shockwaves through Odisha’s sporting fraternity. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik mourned the deaths of the two athletes. “Deeply saddened by the tragic demise of athletes Mrutyam Jayaram Dondapati and Malaya Barik in a road accident. Their untimely passing is a profound loss to Odisha’s sporting fraternity.

My heartfelt condolences to their bereaved families. May Mahaprabhu Shri Jagannath grant them strength in this difficult time and eternal peace to the departed souls,” Majhi wrote in a post on X.

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The Hans India