KOCHI: It was sort of a different contest for a former MLA who is set to take on his opponent in yet another political battle. And he won too! For M J Jacob, the LDF candidate in Piravom, taking part in the Masters Athletic Meet, was a sporting prelude for the soon-to-come electoral battle. Wearing chest no 127 and sporting red trousers and a black T-shirt, Jacob was active throughout the meet. Arriving at the stadium at 8.30 a.m, he was there till the end of the meet. Jacob, who has already proven his athletic skills in school and college, was also the champion at the athletic meet held for Legislative Assembly members. At the district-level Masters Athletic Meet held at Maharaja’s College stadium on Sunday, he took part in three items - long jump, 100 m and 800 m race. He emerged first in long jump and 800 m and won third place in the 100 m race.“During my colleges days at UC College, Aluva, and my school days, I was a champion in athletics. I have set records in 1,500 m and 5,000 m race in the university-level. The spirit is still alive. When I was representing Piravom, I had alloted money from the MLA fund for sports activities,” he said. Jacob had allocated `3.5 crore for a 400m race ground at Chottanikkara and `1.5 crore for Manimalakunnu Government College Stadium. At a time when Jacob is preparing to take on Kerala Congress leader Anup Jacob, son of the late minister T M Jacob, how did he manage to find time for the athletic meet? “The campaign is on. And, athletics has a role in my life. Now, there is a lack of practise. I took part in the meet last time also,” he said. The district meet held here on Sunday was the selection process for the state meet to be held in Thiruvananthapuram on January 2012. Out of the 200 people who took part in the district-level, as many as 120 have been selected for the state meet,” said K J Paul, president of Ernakulam District Masters Association. Competitions were held in nine categories for veterans of the age group 35-90.
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