From poverty to podium: Iniya runs her way to gold at State School Sports Meet

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The first gold medal winner in athletics at the State School Sports Meet doesn’t have a house of her own. She ran wearing spikes gifted by kind-hearted well-wishers. Iniya M, who won gold after battling poverty, is an eighth-grade student at Parali High School in Palakkad. She beat her senior competitors to win gold in the Senior Girls 3,000-meter race, finishing in 10 minutes and 56.67 seconds.

Though she belongs to the sub-junior category by age, her physical education teacher P.G. Manoj recognised her talent in long-distance running and encouraged her to compete in the senior category. This is Iniya’s first year at Parali School. Noticing her dedication- training regularly without being asked- Manoj entered her in the 600-meter event at the district junior athletics meet. She surprised everyone by winning gold there, though she couldn’t perform as well at the state level. Learning from that experience, she shifted focus to long-distance running for the school meet.

At the district level, she won gold in the 3,000 m, 1,500 m, and 800 m events. Every morning, she wakes up at 4 a.m. and travels two kilometres alone for training. Iniya is the daughter of Murugan, a daily wage worker, and Sindhu, a cook at Edathara School. She has a brother named Surya.

Dreams of a home and a job
Iniya and her parents hope to buy the small rented house they currently live in, which costs Rs 4.5 lakh. But arranging such an amount seems impossible for them. Still, Iniya dreams of having a home of her own one day, getting a good job, and becoming an athlete recognised around the world.

“With just four months of training, Iniya won gold. She has the potential to become a proud representative of the nation.”
- P.G. Manoj, Physical Education Teacher, Parali High School