How Chennai bodybuilder R Manikandan went from housekeeping to winning medals for India
The Hindu
Representing India at a bodybuilding competition in Uzbekistan, Chennai-based R Manikandan shares his journey from a hotel’s housekeeping department to fitness entrepreneurship
There are two things R Manikandan lives for: the chain of Toneez Fitness Centres he established as a 23-year-old, and bodybuilding.
Over the past month, he has been consumed by both. After opening three stores of Toneez Wellness in Chennai and Hyderabad, he is now in Uzbekistan, representing India at the 12th World Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Championship, which begins today.
This is the third time he will be taking part in this competition, having won the Mr World title twice: gold in 2017 and silver in 2018.
A crowd comprising farmers, researchers, professors, students, and horticulture enthusiasts thronged the ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Hesaraghatta, Bengaluru, on Friday for the inaugural ceremony of the Triphal Diversity Show which showcased 300 mango, 100 jackfruit, and 100 banana genotypes in collaboration with ICAR-National Research Centre for Banana, Tiruchirappalli.
The State government on Friday constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by Additional Director-General of Police, Manish Kharbikar of the Economic Offences division of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to probe the alleged multi-crore scam in the government-run Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation.