Profile: Vikas Gowda
Son of former Indian Olympic track and field coach Shiv Gowda, Vikas Gowda is India's best discus thrower and the national record holder.
Sport: Track & Field
Age: 29
Previous Olympics: 2008
About Vikas Gowda
Son of former Indian Olympic track and field coach Shiv Gowda, Vikas Gowda is India's best discus thrower and the national record holder.
He was born in Mysore, Karnataka, but grew up in Maryland in the United States. Gowda is currently majoring in math at the University of North Carolina and is a top athlete there, winning several titles and breaking many records in the process.
His first big win representing India came in 2005 when he won the silver medal at the Asian Championships. In 2006, he finished sixth both at the Asian Games and at the Commonwealth Games.
He was part of the Indian contingent at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but failed to proceed to the finals after finishing 11th in the qualifiers. 2010 was the most prolific year of Gowda's career. At the Asian All Star Athletics Meet at New Delhi, he bagged the gold.
Vikas Gowda followed it up with silver at the Asian Athletics Championships at Incheon. He finished second at the Commonwealth Games at New Delhi and was a bronze medallist at the Asian Games.
He clinched the silver at the 2011 Asian Championships at Kobe. Gowda qualified for the 2012 London Olympics at the IAAF World Championships in Daegu last year after a seventh place finish.