“My father ate food kept for cattle so I can train” says gold medalist Gomathi Marimuthu from Asian Athletic Championships

 

Gomathi Marimuthu the golden women who have grabbed her success in the 800 meters track event that recently concluded Asian Athletic Championships recalls her struggles that she had faced.

My father ate the food kept for cattle in order to provide me with decent food so that I can train for athletics,” said a tearful Gomathi Marimuthu after a post match press meet.

Gomathi says that she was very confident about winning a gold medal. She has also asserted that she has not received any help form the Indian government. I was confident about winning a medal and had practiced well. I was not part of the camp for a month and trained alone. Government of India did not help me and I got ready in my own money,” she said.

She even added that she will win a gold medal in olympics if she is supported by the Government.

Her father is her only true hero that she misses even now at her current time. Marimuthu, who passed away a few years ago. She fondly remembered the sacrifices he made to enable her train well for competitions.

“My father was not able to walk when I was training for the championship. We don’t have bus or light facilities in my village. So to catch the bus at 4.30, my father used to wake me up at 4 am and help me with household work if my mother is not well. I miss him,” she says.

When my father was not well and admitted in the hospital, he ate the food kept for cattle just because he wanted to provide food for me for sports training I still cannot accept or forget it. If he was alive now, I would have considered him as my God,”

Her performance in the Asian Athletic meet was more than a medal winning. In her present age, it is not easy to crak the track events. Without any help from the government, she performed well in the Asian championships.

“If I perform well in this World Championships, there are chances that I might win a medal in Olympics,” she added.