Melbourne silver medallist who was arrested for "Naxalite-nexus"

Purulia, Mar 26 (UNI) Life has come a full circle for Pinki Pramanik, once arrested for possessing an improvised gun and for her alleged Naxalite 'nexus', after she ran the last lap to earn India's silver in the women's 4x400m relay in the just-concluded Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

The Maoist dominated Purulia district today ceremoniously celebrated its daughter's acheivement and her parents were visibly overwhelmed.

''Pinki always loves taking challenges and she fought against all odds to reach here. She never gives up and that's the best thing about her,'' said her father Durga Charan Pramanik.

In Melbourne, Rajwinder Kaur led off and Chitra Soman followed her in the relay. Manjit Kaur ran the penultimate leg of the relay and it was left to Pinki to cap the show and she did it in style as India crossed the line third but still finished second after the England quartet was disqualified.

The teenager from the remote village of Bagmura was never weighed down by the hostilities and showed her zeal to make it to Melbourne.

Incidentally, Pinki was arrested in November 2005 on charges of possessing a single-shot improvised pistol and she was also barred from entering the Centre for Exellence at SAI in Kolkata.

Those days behind her, Pinki's mother Shibani Pramanik is optimistic future has even better in store for the athlete.

''Our daughter dreams of making it to the Olympics and prove herself there,'' she said.

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