THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Dyuthi is an Olympic aspirant whose dreams are stopped by her weak finances. She competes in triathlon, an unpopular sports event in India. She has won over 100 medals for triathlon in her career so far but finds it difficult to even find proper space to store her medals. A Pothencode Koythoorkonam native, she is the daughter of former drama actors K. Sudheer and Komala Kumari. Both Sudheer and Komala Kumari cannot help fund their daughter’s dream due to illness and poverty.

Triathlon is not a popular event in the state. Very few people train for this event. Dyuthi started her training in triathlon five years back, with the assistance of triathlon association in Kochi. But her family can’t even afford a cycle for practice alongside swimming and running.

After graduation, Dyuthi has knocked several doors for a job in sports quota. But everything went in vain, as authorities said that triathlon association is not affiliated with Sports Council.

Dyuthi had a dream of contesting in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. But as finances draw her back, she started working as a swimming instructor for kids, in order to fund her training. That is not even close to enough. Hindustan Scouts and Guides have offered her a job after learning her sad story. That’ll be a help, still won’t help her fulfill her dream. She is hopeful that the government would assist her.

Triathlon is a sport that demands a lot of physical endurance as it consists of 1.5 kilometers swimming, 40 kilometers cycling and 10 kilometers running.