Sprinter A. Chandralekha, who won the gold medal in 100 meters in the 58th National Open Athletics Championship on Wednesday, says her aim is to break the national record.
While the current national record for the event is 11.29 seconds, she managed to achieve a personal best of 11.47 seconds at the meet held at Bhubaneswar.
“I am happy with my victory and also timing. But I will definitely work hard to break the national record in future,” the first year M.Sc Yoga student of National College here, told The Hindu over phone.
Ms. Chandralekha, who hails from Panruti in Cuddalore district, was motivated by her father N. Anandan, a farmer, to take up athletics. She performed well in the district-level competitions before joining SDAT Sports Hostel at Tiruvannamalai. “It was certainly the turning point,” Ms. Chandralekha recalls, adding: “The professional coaching I got from Vinayakamurthy at the sports hostel shaped me into an athlete and gave me the encouragement to dream big.”
Last year, she bagged a silver medal in the same championship. After bagging a gold medal this time around, Ms. Chandralekha is not the one to rest on her laurels. She has set her sights firmly on making it to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. “That’s my father’s dream,” she says.
And she is certain about making it a reality. “The systematic training provided by my coach and former international athlete Francis Sagayaraj now and the support from the college management has given me the confidence,” she says.
