Two promising Odisha athletes, Mrutyam Jayaram Dondapati and 400m runner Malay Barik, were killed in a road accident on the Cuttack highway late Wednesday night.
Dondapati had emerged as one of India’s fastest under-23 sprinters in 2025, while Barik competed in the 400m event. Their untimely deaths have left Odisha’s sporting fraternity in mourning.
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi expressed grief over the tragic loss, describing their deaths as a profound loss to the state’s sporting community.
“Deeply saddened by the tragic demise of athletes Mrutyam Jayaram Dondapati and Malaya Barik in a road accident. Their untimely passing is a profound loss to Odisha’s sporting fraternity,” Majhi said in a social media post.
The deaths of the two young athletes have cast a pall of gloom over Odisha’s athletics community, cutting short the promising sporting journeys of two emerging talents.
