CHENNAI: Age is just a number might be a hackneyed saying but not for 50-year-old Jaya Mahesh. In June this year, Coimbatore-based Mahesh won bronze in the first National Women's Master Athletic Championship 2019 organised by Goa Masters Athletic association in collaboration with the Sports Authority of India. Mahesh participated in the discus throw event in the under-50 years plus category at the championship held on June 28th, 29th and 30th at Bambolim athletic stadium in Goa.
“If there is no health, we can’t enjoy anything. Health and fitness both are a must for anyone with no age restrictions. Being a daughter of commissioner of police, I was insisted to practice sports fitness from my childhood. I participated in many competitions during my student days,” says Jaya Mahesh.When Mahesh was in her perimenopause stage, the hormone secretion caused her to gain a lot of weight and she was even hospitalised for 10 days.
“Ten months back, I was hospitalised for menopause transition treatment. I don’t want to be disappointed with my bodily changes. I want to excel myself in something for self-realisation and I chose sports for it,” she shares.Having found a reason to start afresh, Mahesh charted a list of health goals. She trained in discus throw under discus throw expert M Narayanan at the Gold Crust Throw Academy.
“Initially, it was difficult to balance my personal and professional commitments with daily routine and sports practice. However, I manage to balance everything to break the pattern of the regular lifestyle. I worked hard for the championship for two months and appeared in a discus throw competition for the first time then,” she says.
She is the founder of body sculpting therapy and runs a studio for the same.Mahesh's perseverance paid off when she won a bronze medal in discus, throwing the disc for 18.5 metres and qualifying for the Asian Championships to be held at Malaysia in this year.“It was a new experience to compete with people who were into sports for many years. Around 750 participants across India aged between 30 to 80 years took part in the competition. I threw the disc to 23 metres for the second time and was a foul. I will be practising hard in the coming months and excel myself in the Asian championship,” she says.
Mahesh's coach has a record of producing National winners in the discus throw event. She trains with him for one hour every morning. In the evenings, she works on her fitness in the gym, building her core strength. A typical day begins with practice, followed by therapy, mixed in with social commitments and spending time with her mother and 23-year-old daughter, and ends with a trip to the gym and another therapy session.
As cliché as it may sound, but Mahesh is beauty with brawns and brain. In 2016, she was Mrs India Earth Winner and Mrs Classic Globe runner in 2018.“The lifestyle of a beauty pageant is different from sportspersons. It needs mental commitment to shine as a sports star. Being a first-timer and taking up sports at the age of 50 and competing with these seasoned veterans was really intimidating.
Whatever age group you may be competing with, you face stiff competition in that age group. Competition is competition. However, fit a person is, sports demands a lot of practice, hard work, commitment and discipline. Even for a person like me who has fitness as a lifestyle, it hasn't been easy,” shares Jaya Mahesh.Gearing up for the upcoming Championship in Malaysia, the 50-year-old aspires to bag a gold. She also hopes to participate in long-distance walking.