HYDERABAD: “When one door closes, another opens, and that’s exactly what happened. I’m happy I made it to the Olympics,” said 24-year-old sprinter Jyothika Sri Dandi, who missed the Asian Games last year due to an injury but successfully qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics as part of the women’s 4x400m relay team.
At an event held at Marigold by Green Park to announce the third edition of the Granules Green Heartfulness Run, she had a hearty chat with CE about her journey.
“Becoming a sportsperson wasn’t my dream - it was my dad’s. He used to be a bodybuilder and was always into sports. Initially, I wasn’t interested but gradually developed a strong will to win, and I think that made me love what I do,” shared Jyothika.
While the world counts Olympic medals, athletes like Jyothika count the distances they’ve travelled from their setbacks.
“I’ve been training for 10 years. Participating in the Olympics is every athlete’s biggest dream, though it’s not easy to achieve. It took so much hard work and dedication to reach this point. I actually didn’t qualify for the Asian Games last year due to an injury but that experience gave me more confidence and motivated me even more for the Olympics,” explained the sprinter.
Jyothika had much praise for the Granules Green Heartfulness Run and its unique cause, saying, “I have seen a lot of marathons but this one seems different from the rest because it’s about saving nature. Considering our busy everyday lives, no one would usually think of plants, so bringing awareness through this run is a great initiative.”
The run, slated for November 17, aims to raise funds to plant over 15,000 trees through the ‘Forests by Heartfulness’ initiative. Other objectives include community engagement, spreading heartfulness practices, and contributing to ecological causes.
The event at Marigold was supported by Fit India and organised by Heartfulness in association with Granules India Limited and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. Dr Naina Jaiswal, international table tennis player, Uma Chigurupati, executive director, Granules India Limited, and Sanjay Sehgal, trustee, Heartfulness Institute, were present along with Jyothika at the meet.
Jyothika also emphasised the need for better sports infrastructure in the Telugu states.
“I’m originally from Andhra Pradesh but I travel to other states to train because both the Telugu states lack proper facilities like synthetic tracks—there’s only one in Gachibowli. We need more coaches, equipment, and much more for an athlete to reach the international level. For the purpose of training, I go to Thiruvananthapuram, where there are nutritionists, physiotherapists, doctors, and everything else that is needed. If we want more medals from the Telugu states in the next Olympics, we need to focus on these aspects,” she said.
Finally, she shared her perspective on failure, noting, “I’ve faced many failures before finally holding a medal in my hand. Failures are the biggest life lessons. I believe that failures push you towards success. I’ve seen people give up after one mistake or failure, but that’s not how it works. You have to put in extra effort after every failure, and I strongly believe that will lead you to success.”