The Payyoli Express was speaking at a media briefing to announce the launch of the ‘SpeedStar’ programme, a first of its kind initiative to track India’s fastest running sensation for the 100m sprint event.

“The problem in our country is that there is no competition. In other countries, they have many sprinters and they don’t have to go abroad to compete. For example, Tintu Luka is the lone runner in 800m, there aren’t many athletes at the same level as her. You take Kenya, they have 200 runners who are almost at the same level. We need such a base if we want athletics to yield medals at the international level,” she said.