Gopi T, winner among Indian elite men at the 2023 Tata Mumbai Marathon (Photo: Saurabh Bhattacharyaa)
On January 15, 2023, at Flora Fountain in Mumbai, the camera on my phone struggled to capture the elite marathon runners passing by. That was when I noticed a man with a good camera nearby, who too was clicking pictures. Upon my asking he said he was an amateur photographer. I enquired if he would be willing to share a photo or two with this blog. Saurabh Bhattacharyaa agreed. By day's end, thanks to Saurabh, the blog had a photo of the overall winner of 2023 TMM, Hayle Lemi of Ethiopia to publish alongside its main race report. However, a photo of the winner among Indian elite men, Gopi T, couldn't be had. For its report based on a conversation with Gopi, the blog therefore went ahead with a post-race photo and a blurred image of the athlete in action, which was all my phone could manage. Saurabh though, appears not to have given up. On January 30, a fortnight after the race, he sent across a photo of Gopi that he had managed to locate in his collection. It came with the message, `` Found Gopi at last, in my folder.'' A fine picture, we publish it herein, expressing alongside our gratitude to Saurabh. Thank you.
(The author, Shyam G Menon, is a freelance journalist and blogger based in Mumbai.)
No comments:
Post a Comment