Kerala, who finished second in the previous competition, got off to a strong start in their 36th National Games campaign on Friday by winning five medals, including two gold.
The state’s two gold medals came from the roller-skating competition. The gold metals were accounted for by Abhijith Amalraj (artistic free skating) and Vidya Das (park skateboarding). S Vineesh also took home a bronze medal at the skateboarding park. Interestingly, roller sports are debuting in the national competitions.
A B Arun won the silver medal in the men’s triple jump with a leap of 16.08 metres. Josna Christy Jose increased the state’s total number of medals won to five with her bronze in the women’s solo sabre competition.
The Yesudasan-Rani pair of Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram are the parents of Vidya, 14. Vidya, who comes from the fishing community, was introduced to the sport by SISP, a nonprofit working in Thiruvananthapuram’s coastal area. She picked up the finer points of skateboarding at the SISP-run Kovalam Skate Club. Vineesh, a 15-year-old, is also a graduate of the SISP. He is a class X student at Vizhinjam’s St. Mary’s Higher Secondary School and was raised in a family of fishermen by Stephanson and Vimala.
The 21-year-old Abhijith, a native of Pramadam in the Pathanamthitta district, has won the national title in artistic free skating for the previous eight years. The 21-year-old Abijith, who is also the junior division world champion, has just finished training in Rome.
Arun, who took home the silver medal in the triple jump, is from Kanjiramkulam in the Thiruvananthapuram district. Wayanad-born Josna finished third in the individual sabre competition, losing out on the gold to Olympian Bhavani Devi.
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