Athletics wasn’t the first sport P.G. Manoj tried at Parli HSS when he joined there in 1995. His focus was on games, namely, football, handball and basketball.
He was a handball player himself in his younger days. But handball is not among the most popular sports in Kerala, while the students at the school were not tall enough to form a decent team in basketball.
“There were some talented kids in football, but I found the selection at the district trials was not always fair; it wasn’t the best that was often picked, and the selectors could be influenced,” says Manoj. “In any case, only one or two players from the school could make it to the Palakkad team.”
Athletics, he felt, was a totally different ball game. The selection was not subjective. The fastest runner would walk straight into the district or the State team. “Besides, you could have as many children as you want in your school team, unlike football in which only 11 could play,” Manoj reasons. “So I decided to concentrate on athletics.”
Change in State rankings
It was a decision that would help Palakkad jump from 13th place at the State school athletics to the first. “At the time when I began training my students in athletics, the only school in Palakkad district that used to win medals at the State schools meet was the Government School, Attappady; and that was because of the hard work of a physical education teacher called Sebastian,” says Manoj.
“In 2003, S. Pramod won the first ever medal at the State meet for us; he had got the silver in the junior boys’ hammer throw.”
The following year, V.S. Sandhya walked into the history books at the National School Meet, winning the gold in the senior girls’ 5 km walk. “Now we have won 425 gold medals at the State-level athletics meet, 240 sliver, and 184 bronze,” he says.
“At the national-level, we have clinched 176 gold, 102 sliver, and 84 bronze. At the national school athletics meet, we were the best-performing school four times and the second-best twice. Our students have 19 national records and 70 State records.”
Little wonder, Manoj was chosen for the government’s first ever award for the best physical education teacher in 2012. That is perhaps just about the only significant recognition that has come his way so far.
Seeks sports hostel at school
Not that he has complaints. He would, however, be glad if the government or some organisations came forward to have a sports hostel at the school. “That would make my job a lot easier,” he says. “I would then get better talent, that too from faraway places.”
At the moment, he has to work with students who live in the region near the school.
“I don’t think any other school or club in India has achieved as much we have working with purely local talent,” he says.
“Initially most of the medal winners from the school were in long-distance and walking events, but over the past few years I have been able to produce quality athletes in varied events.”
V.V. Jisha is one of them. She had represented India at the World Junior Athletics Championship in the United States in 2014. “That was a proud moment for me,” says Manoj.
“There have been other internationals from our school, such as P.N. Ajith, who won a silver at the World Schools Meet in Turkey last year, P. Mohammed Afsal, who claimed two golds at the Asian Schools Championship in Malaysia in 2013, and K.T. Neena, who competed at the World Youth Meet in Ukraine and the Youth Olympics in China.”
