C Srither the first person from TN to win a medal (Silver) in archery at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi has thanked AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa for helping him procure the equipment, here on Monday.

The Dharmapuri lad who did the State proud has appealed to chief minister Karunanidhi for a house for his poor family. Srither got a call from the AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa who enquired about his requirements and allotted him `2 lakh for buying the equipment. Srither had approached the government and the sports development authority of TN for help in acquiring a bow. Jaylalithaa had also promised to help him in the future said Srither, who hails from a poor family in Pappireddipatti in Dharmapuri district.

Srither and team beat South Africa in a thrilling match and moved on to the finals against England. But the Indians missed the gold by a whisker, just by two points, in the finals. Srither, the silver medallist, who was trained at the Shihan Hussaini Archery Academy initially has also thanked his employers, the Indian Army, for training him further in the sport and S B Adityan, president of the TAAT for the presenting cash award of `1 lakh from the Archery Association.