At a time when he was set to scale new heights, archer-turned-coach Cherukuri Lenin met a fate similar to that of his younger sister, Volga.
At a time when he was set to scale new heights, archer-turned-coach Cherukuri Lenin met a fate similar to that of his younger sister, Volga. The 27-year-old died in a road accident at Jupudi, about 40 km from Vijayawada, early Sunday morning.
Lenin’s ward, Ritul Chatterjee (a Commonwealth Games silver medallist), father Cherukuri Satyanarayana and a relative, Kalyan, escaped with minor injuries.
The mishap took place when Lenin was returning home (Vijaywada) after a grand felicitation organised in honour of him, Chatterjee and Jignesh Chittibomma — also a CWG silver medallist — by Andhra Pradesh governor ESL Narasimhan and chief minister K Rosaiah in Hyderabad on Saturday evening. While Chatterjee chose to travel with Lenin, Chittibomma took a bus with his family.
Around 1:30 am, Lenin noticed that Kalyan, who was driving the family’s brand new Scorpio, was feeling sleepy. Lenin then sat at the wheel as home was 30 minutes away.
A source said, “Lenin was said to be driving safely. At Jupudi, he saw an auto rickshaw taking a U-turn. Suddenly, Lenin applied the brakes. Something happened and the door opened wide and he fell out of the vehicle. He crashed into a road divider and died on the spot. Everyone else is absolutely safe. Lenin hadn’t fastened his seat belt.”
Lenin, who was a popular coach, ran an academy named after Volga. A national archer, Volga, too, had died in a road mishap five years ago. Lenin, who tied the knot in 2008, doesn’t have any kids.
“He was a brilliant human being. He has always been a good friend despite winning so many awards,” a friend of Lenin said.
Archery Association of India (AAI) general secretary Paresh Nath Mukherjee said, “We are really pained to hear this news. He (Lenin) was a promising coach and was involved in producing promising archers. It’s a big loss,”
Lenin had won many medals in national and international events. He started practising at the age of 10. He shot to fame in 2005 when he won a silver medal at the Asian Grand Pix in Malaysia, followed by a gold medal at the Asian Championship in New Delhi. He then won a silver medal at the Asian Grand Pix in Bangkok in 2006. As national coach, he trained more than 250 archers, eight of whom have taken part in national and international events.
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