Ashwini Nachappa is an accomplished former track and field athlete and an Indian actress who works predominantly in the Telugu film industry. She came into prominence around the start of the 1980s, when she outran Indian sprinter PT Usha on two separate occasions. In 1988 she received the Arjuna award.
Ashwini has been referred to as India's Flo-Jo, a comparison to American track and field athlete Florence Griffith Joyner, who is considered the fastest woman of all time based on the fact that the world records she set in 1988 for both the 100 metre and 200 metre still stand.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
Ashwini represented India in three South Asian Federation Games, in 1984 in Nepal where she won two silver medals, 1986 in Bangladesh where she won two silver medals, and in 1988 in Pakistan where she three gold medals. She participated in two Asian Games, in 1986 in South Korea in which she came 6th in long jump, and in 1990 in Beijing, China where she won a silver medal in the 4×100 metre relay.
In 1987, Ashwini was a member of the 4×400 metre relay team that represented India at the World Championships in Rome, and again in 1991 under the same category at the World Championships in Tokyo.
She is the president of Clean Sports India, a non-profit organisation, president of Bangalore Urban District Athletics Association, and governing council member of the Sports Authority of India. She is also the vice-president of the Karnataka Athletics Association.
ASHWINI'S SPORTS FOUNDATION:
Ashwini's Sports Foundation (ASF) was founded in 2010 by Ashwini after she realized the dire need to create a system that will nurture potential athletes consistently. The aim of the foundation was to create a system in these sport that will ensure that creating world-class athletes is not left to chance. She also manages a school, Karaumbiah's Academy for Learning & Sport (KALS), with her husband. Located in Gonikoppa, South Coorg on a 28-acre campus, KALS has more than 700 children benefiting from it.
She is associated with Parikrma Humanity Foundation, an NGO providing top-class English language education the poorest from the slums of Bangalore.
MOVIES:
Ashwini has starred in a number of Telugu movies, including her own biographical film titled Ashwini in 1991, for which she received the state Nandi Award for Best Debut Actress. Her other films are, Inspector Ashwini (1993), Aadarsam (1993), Miss 420 (1995), and Andaru Andare (1996).
PERSONAL LIFE:
Ashwini Nachappa was born on October 21, 1967 in Kodagu, Karnataka and she is married to Datha Karaumbiah with whom she has two children.
SOCIAL:
Ashwini Nachappa updates followers through Twitter - Ashwini Nachappa/@AshwiniNachappa.