On Monday evening, athlete V. Revathi, who is on a six-day break before joining the Indian Olympic training camp in Patiala, sits on the bleachers of Madurai Race Course ground - an area most familiar to her.
This 22-year-old from Sakkimangalam who loves to run, has broken a number of national and university records in 400 metres and relay. She is now part of an eight-member team from across the country which is training for the Olympics to be conducted in 2021. Ms. Revathi says that she is confident of being selected to represent the country next year.
In the last one year, Ms. Revathi has represented the country at the World Athletics Championship conducted in Doha. She has also taken part in a number of international championships till date. Ms. Revathi, however, says that it took a lot of hardwork and a stroke of luck to get to where she is today.
“I was in Class 4 when my father died and Class 5 when my mother passed away. My younger sister and I stayed at Government-run hostels and studied in Government schools. When I was young, my physical education teacher at school would encourage me to take part in running competitions. At a Zonal Meet in Class 12, Kannan sir, my coach, saw me running without shoes. He thought I was talented and said that I could get a seat at a good college if I continued to train under the sports quota. Although I really did want to enter college, my guardian - my grandmother – could not monetarily support me and was hesitant. However, she later allowed me to do what I wanted,” she says.
Ms. Revathi says that when she joined Lady Doak College (LDC), she was thrilled as she did not have to pay any fees under the sports quota. The college also provided her a free accommodation. However, a bout of ill health caused by an acute wheezing problem abruptly put an end to her studies right after she completed her first year in B. A. Tamil.
“I was sent back home because my condition was getting worse. Neighbours in my village asked my grandmother why I was being allowed to go to college. I then began working at an automobile company, fixing springs in vehicles for a month. My coach came home, spoke to my grandmother and somehow persuaded me to continue both sports and studies,” she says.
One year later, she clinched her first national medal while doing her second year at LDC.
“After my name began appearing on papers, my grandmother and all neighbours began encouraging me. Many people on their regular morning walks at the Madurai Race Course grounds began recognising me as I trained there everyday. They bought me shoes and other training equipment when I did not have anything,” she says.
Sports Development Authority of India Coach K. Kannan, who met Ms.Revathi eight years ago, says that she loved running barefoot and required only one correction in her technique. “I told people that she would definitely make it to the Olympics someday. They laughed. She is a natural and has tremendous speed,” he adds.
Mr. Kannan says that it is only time until she unleashes her full potential. “Nothing is stopping her from becoming another Hima Das or P. T. Usha,” he says.
Ms. Revathi, now works in the Southern Railways. She signs off by saying, “Olympics is the only thing on my mind now.”
