CHENNAI: Never in her wildest dreams, S Dhanalakshmi thought she would prevail in a race that boasts the likes of heavyweights Dutee Chand and Hima Das. On Tuesday, the Tamil Nadu sprinter announced her arrival at the 24th Federation Cup National Athletics Championship in Patiala, clinching gold in the much-anticipated 100m event by clocking 11.39 seconds. It was also double joy for Tamil Nadu as Archana Suseendran finished third behind Dutee. Hima was disqualified after a false start.
Hailing from Tiruchy, the 22-year-old had to battle odds to rise to prominence. Finance was tight — she lost her father at a young age and her mother is into farming. Whatever little money she gets as a stipend from Alva's College, Mangaluru, it would go to her family. There was even a time last year when she had to depend on others to get basic equipment for training. Despite the obstacles, she never complained.
On Tuesday, Dhanalakshmi admitted that she was nervous competing against big guns. And she attributes this success to her coach M Manikanda Arumugam, a former Tamil Nadu sprinter.
"It was initially intimidating when I saw the big names such as Hima Das and Dutee Chand taking part in the event. But my coach has been a constant motivator and he said I should believe in my abilities and try to beat them," said Dhanalakshmi after winning her first senior national race.
It was in 2017 that Arumugam, who trains her at the Rockfort Stars Academy, took her under his wings. Her first notable performance came in the 2018 national inter-university athletics championship where she won gold in the 200m. With her pet event being 200m, the gold-winning performance came as a pleasant surprise to her coach.
"Tuesday's result was the hard work that she had put in during the lockdown," says Arumugam. "I am very proud of what she has achieved today (Tuesday). Winning gold by beating an athlete like Dutee makes it more special."
Last year, in order to improve her quality of training, Arumugam bought a new set of gym equipment and changed her training regime and diet to strengthen her core muscles. His friends and acquaintances pooled in money to fund her training at Tiruchy.
"I didn't want finance to be an obstacle for her to receive proper training. Hence, I and a few of my friends raised some money. We then bought quality equipment and also made sure her diet was not compromised," said Arumugam.
Though Dhanalakshmi has grabbed headlines on Tuesday, her coach feels the job is not done with the 200m event scheduled for March 18 and 19. "She is capable of running even faster. There is no time to be complacent if she wants to reach the Olympic qualification mark," he said.