Uttar Pradesh native Jyothi Upadhyaya came to Kerala to escape child marriage; course of her life changed with silver wins at Sports Meet

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Jyothi Upadhyaya would have been a victim of child marriage had she not come to Kerala. A native of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, who Kerala welcomed with open hands, ran to win two silver medals in the State School Sports Meet. Jyothi is a Plus Two student of St. Joseph's H.S. Pullurampara, Kozhikode.

Jyothi won her first silver in the 100m two days ago. She narrowly missed out on the gold in the 200m photo finish yesterday. Her parents, Avadh Narayan Upadhyay and Pushpa, are farmers. Jyothi dropped out of school in the fifth grade. It was Santosh Chaudhary, a coach from Uttar Pradesh, who approached Ananthu, a physical education teacher in Pullurampara, for Jyothi. Santosh, recognising Jyoti's talent, asked Ananthu if she could get a chance in Kerala.

Jyothi Upadhyaya reached St. Joseph's HS Pullurampara with the help of an organisation named HRDS. She was admitted to Class VIII based on her Aadhar card and age. Jyothi came to Kerala to escape her marriage. She has changed the course of her life with this run to Kerala.