As the run-up to the Commonwealth Games’ long jump event today draws close, we may see athlete Lokesh Sathyanathan as we often do before competitions, sitting with his head down, getting into the zone. “It doesn’t matter how great an athlete you are, you will have a certain kind of anxiety, a good anxiety. What differs is how long it stays inside. It’s human nature,” he says. Pre-game nerves are especially good, when backed with hard work. “I’ve always believed in preparation. If you’re prepared enough, you don’t have anything to be scared or nervous about,” adds 25-year-old Sathyanathan.
He has been training in the US from 2024, when he moved to Texas to study psychology and kinesiology, while training and competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Championships. In February, he even became the first
Indian to cross 8m in indoor long jump and a few months later, broke the Indian indoor long jump record by jumping 8.21m. “It’s a priceless and proud moment to represent your country’s name not just by winning it, but by being among the great athletes here.”
The young athlete’s journey started as a nine-year-old boy in Bengaluru, running as fast as he could behind a football, like his father who once played for the Bengaluru police football team. “My dad saw this and said ‘this is not where you belong,’ and sent me to train with a coach at Kanteerava Stadium. A month later, he signed me up for an under-11 100m race. I just did what I was told to. But a few years later, watching athletes like Mike Cole and Carl Lewis, do amazing things drove me closer to bigger dreams”.
With a close relationship with both parents,who, he notes, ‘didn’t have to be convinced, because they’re always supportive,’ it was a huge blow when Sathyanathan’s mother passed in 2021. “It was an absolute loss,” he says.
The years abroad have made a big difference in shaping Sathyanathan. The biggest change has been been material, with coaches, equipment and other facilities readily available, but equally important has been a different way of thinking about student sports, notes Sathyanathan, saying, “Going to the US had a huge impact on everything, not just my performance, but also mental and physical health. Back home, if you’re an athlete, you would be excused from classes, you don’t have to go to college regularly or write exams. But it’s the opposite here. If you want to be competing, you have to be eligible in academics. Balancing both makes a big difference, because it always keeps you prepared to manage the pressure.”