Meet 'Daadi cool' Rambai, the 106-year-old sprinter who has won 200 medals in 2 years; Madhavan lauds feat

106-year-old sprinter Rambai, who bagged 3 gold medals at the 18th National Open Athletics Championships in Dehradun on Monday, has now competed in 14 sporting events in India and overseas, winning over 200 medals. Actor R Madhavan applauds inspiring feat.

Rambai, a 106-year-old sprinter who began competing in athletics two years ago at the age of 104 and broke the world record for the 100-meter sprint in the above-85 category last year, added three more gold medals to her collection on Monday at the 18th National Open Athletics Championships in Dehradun. She won one gold in the 100-meter sprint, one in the 200-meter sprint, and one in the shot put.

Rambai defeated three to five opponents in each of the three tournaments for the over-85 group. When her granddaughter offered to massage her legs, she told her to "give it to someone who needs it" as she walked off the platform with pride while exclaiming "I'm happy" in Haryanvi.

Actor R Madhavan took to Twitter to applaud Rambai's latest feat. "106-yr-old bags 3 gold at Doon sports event.. NOW THIS IS TRUE INSPIRATION," he noted.

Rambai spent the majority of her childhood performing home duties and working in the family agricultural field. She was born in Kadma, a small village in Haryana's Charkhi Dadri. Her involvement in sports began in 2016, when Punjab's Man Kaur, then 100, made headlines by winning gold in the 100-meter sprint at the American Masters Games in Vancouver while setting a world record for the fastest centenarian. At the World Masters Game in Auckland the following year, Kaur beat her own world record by seven seconds.

Sharmila Sagwan, Rambai's 41-year-old granddaughter, related her Kaur's tale and argued that if a person over 100 years old could do it, then why couldn't she?

"When Sharmila first asked me to start participating in sporting events in the veterans’ category, I hesitated. But now I am happy to be in the field, as I have hardly ever stepped out of my village before this. I hope my participation in sports at this age sends the message to youths that if I can do it, nothing can stop them from taking up sports and staying fit," Rambai told TOI.

Rambai broke Kaur's record at the Open Masters Athletics Champions in Vadodara in June of last year with just a little bit of practise, likely fueled by years of hard work on the field and a diet mostly consisting of milk, homemade dairy products, and farm fresh vegetables. In the past two years, Rambai has competed in 14 sporting events in India and overseas, winning over 200 medals.

"At first, other family members hesitated when we floated the idea of grandma taking up sports. They said if anything were to happen to her, villagers would blame us for not taking good care of our elderly. But I convinced them by showing Mann Kaur’s story," Sangwan told TOI.

Her mother, Santra Devi, 65, and her grandmother were also motivated to play these activities by Sagwan. The same events are now attended by women from three generations, but in different age groups.