How Revathi raced against the odds to qualify for Tokyo Olympics
The Hindu
Madurai girl overcame personal tragedy, penury
She used to practise sprinting barefoot because she could not afford shoes. But sheer determination helped V. Revathi of Madurai qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. At the camp for Olympics-bound athletes in Patiala on Sunday, Ms. Revathi was selected to represent India in the 4 x 400 m mixed relay event. She clocked 53.55 seconds and stood first in the 400 mrun. Her nearest competitor took 54.25 seconds. “It’s a dream come true more for my coach Kannan,” Ms. Revathi told The Hindu from Patiala, where she has been practising for the last two years. Having lost her parents at a young age, Ms. Revathi and her younger sister were brought up by their maternal grandmother Arammal, a farmhand. Amid the poverty that surrounded them, she ensured that they remained in school all these years even when she had to carry bricks in kilns during droughts. “Our relatives asked my grandma to send us to work so that she could rest at home. But she refused,” Ms. Revathi recalled.More Related News