Chasing the dream, an athlete’s journey
KOCHI: Serendipity could be the best word to describe the foray of Anumol Thampi into athletics. Shiby Mathew, a physical education teacher with the Mar Basil HSS, Kothamangalam, visited Parathode, a remote village located 17 km away from Adimali, three years ago to enquire about the health of one of her athletes who was down with injury. It was there she heard about a frail and slender girl who had a penchant for running long distance.
Shiby was told that the young girl used to cover almost 10 km daily, commuting to the school and back. Plus, the girl had an undying spirit and never gave up; a trait that was made evident by some big names like Preeja Sreedharan and K M Beenamol, who also learn the basics of running in the verdant valley. That was it.
Shiby had a gut feeling that the girl might evolve into a big name over time.
But to convince the family to let the young girl move to Kothamangalam was a task she considered Herculean. But it was not. Living in a rented house with her mother Shyni and brother Basil, the family depended entirely on the earnings of Shyni, who worked as a cook at the St George’s HSS where Anumol was a student. Shyni was a single mother and she knew that it would be difficult for her to give wings to her daughter’s dream. And thus happened Anumol’s move to Kothamangalam.
Three years later, Anumol is now a known name in the Indian athletics circuits with her exploits in the national youth circuit. She is a record holder in U-18 girls 3,000m and has also won gold in 1,500m in the national schools athletics. On Tuesday, at the Maharaja’s College Stadium where the Ernakulam revenue district schools athletics championship is underway, she grabbed gold in 5,000m.
“I went to her family and asked if they would like to send her to Mar Basil. The first person who wanted to have a move was the girl herself. She wanted it badly,” said Shiby Mathew, a teacher at the Mar Basil HSS.
Anumol, meanwhile, had made up her mind to win medals so that she could get a job, make a house and give a lease of life to her family. “A job and house top my wishlist,” said the shy 16-year-old. “My brother had joined a hotel management course in Madurai but left it midway as we couldn’t manage the fees. He is now doing menial jobs,” she said. Her friends said a lot of help was offered ever since she set a national record in the youth category but nothing materialised.
“They are still living in a rented house with the support of a person who knows their circumstance,” her friend said. When asked how she would manage sports, once out of the school where she is now in Plus One, she preferred to remain silent. In that silence was a murmur which conveyed that bright stars have to endure the darkest of nights.