In a month’s time, N. Hemamalini, daughter of a farmer in Vellore, will be attempting for her best shot at javelin throw at the World School Athletic Championship in Turkey.
The Class XII student of Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Odugathur, is excited about her first international outing after bagging 13 medals at the State and national level championships in javelin throw in the last three years. She is a resident of Madayapattu. Hemamalini’s family earns a livelihood from agriculture. Her father Neelakandan is a farmer. Despite being in class XII, the 17-year-old girl said she was getting adequate practice for the championship to be held from July 11 to 18 in Turkey.
“I am praticising for two hours in the morning from 5.30 and one-and-a-half hours in the evening. I study at night,” she said.
Her best throw so far is 40.98 metres in a State-level championship. “I am aiming at hitting 45 metres. Right now, I throw a distance of 43 metres during practice sessions,” she added.
V. Krishnamoorthy, her coach and school physical education teacher, is proud of her journey so far. This year has been good for Hemamalini as she bagged the gold at a State-level junior athletic championship held in Coimbatore during January, and went on to win silver at the national-level championship at Calicut in February, he pointed out. On May 29, the School Games Federation of India held selections for the World School Athletic Championship and she stood first, he said.
But the journey has not been easy for the girl. “Hailing from an agricultural family, she has been in need of sponsorship including for shoes and equipment. We were able to get equipment through sponsorship earlier. Now this equipment is in a broken condition,” Mr. Krishnamoorthy added.
He felt that access to gym facilities would boost training for Hemamalini. VIT University Chancellor G. Viswanathan on Thursday handed over a DD for Rs. 50,000 to Hemamalini.
Her best throw is 40.98 metres in a State-level event. She is aiming at 45 metres now
