KOCHI: Thiruvananthapuram continued its domination on Day 5 of the Kerala School Sports Meet, increasing its aggregate points tally to 1,776. Thrissur is way behind with 708 points, while Kannur is placed third with 618 points. Friday marked the completion of the aquatic programme with medallists for 103 events under various categories identified. In track and field, 15 of the 29 events were decided by the end of the day. The meet has so far seen 37 new meet records -- 32 in the pool and five in athletics.
T’Puram dominates pool
Thiruvananthapuram garnered 654 points in aquatics, winning 74 gold, 56 silver and five bronze. Athletes of Thundathil MVHSS contributed 27 gold to the haul. Among the capital district’s swimmers, Abhinav S and Mongam Theerdhu Samdev, with their three meet records, stood out.
Ernakulam was placed second with 162 points. Its medal count was 13 gold, 21 silver and 12 bronze. Kottayam came in third with 90 points.
A mother’s dream come true
On the track, Krishnapriya’s dream came true when her daughter Archana S won gold in the junior girls’ 3,000m race. Archana is a student of Palakkad Mundur HS. “She overcame many of the obstacles that life threw her way to mark this achievement. My small earnings have limited the comforts that I have provided my daughter,” said Krishnapriya, adding that she is proud and happy with her daughter’s achievement.
Archana’s coach, N S Sijin, also guided former international P U Chitra. Twenty-two of his wards from Palakkad, including S Jagannathan, who won gold in the 3,000m junior boys’ walk, are competing in this year’s school sports meet. Most of the Palakkad athletes hail from economically backward families.
Jeena vaults to a record
Jeena Basil, who won gold in the senior girls’ pole vault, broke the meet record by clearing 3.43m. She is a Plus-Two student of Kothamangalam Mar Basil School. Jeena’s success was also achieved amid financial hardships. She has been participating in competitions with the help of school authorities and her neighbours. Jeena also won gold at the National School Games held in Patna, Bihar. Hailing from Oonunkal, in Kothamangalam, she is the daughter of Basil Varghese and Manju, who are farmers.
Following in dad’s footsteps
J Nivedkrishna repeated his father’s feat by winning gold in the junior boys’ 100m. A Plus-One student of Palakkad Chittoor Govt HSS, he clocked a time of 10.98 sec. His father S Jyotiprakash had won gold in the 100m and 200m events at the 1997 state school sports meet held at Kalamassery, Ernakulam.
