Colombo, here they come

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Three girls from Kerala — O.V. Revathi, R. Anu and Jessy Joseph — have been selected to the Indian Squad for the Asian Junior Track and Field Athletics Championship being held at Colombo from June 9 to 12.

Revathy has been selected for the Indian 4X400 m relay, while Anu will be participating in the 400m hurdles event. Jessy Joseph, a product from Usha School of Athletics, is selected for the 800m event.
Revathy and Anu are students of Vimala College Thrissur.

Their performance in the recently held Federation Cup Junior Athletic Championship in Pune paved the way for the selection of both to the championship.

Anu, a native of Alappuzha, has been practising under Kerala State Sports Council coach Jayakumar at the athletic-fame Vimala College in Thrissur.

Her college mate Revathy, also coached by Jayakumar, has clinched a place in the 4X400 m relay team.

A native of Kannur, she was the member of Kerala team that clinched second spot by clocking 50.79 seconds in the Federation Cup Junior meet in Pune.

Anu had clinched gold medal in the 400 m hurdles clocking 1 min:01:06 seconds in the meet to qualify for the Asian Championship.

However, Usha protégée Jessy Joseph is unlikely to participate in the championship. “She has come after a tight schedule and it was a lot of strain. So we have decided to rest her.

She will not be participating in any other championships in the off season,” said V. Sreenivasan trustee member of Usha School of Athletics and husband of PT Usha.

“It is a good sign that three of our junior players are going for the Asian meet. We hope the weather conditions are better there and they come back with a good performance.

This would be a major exposure for our girls,” said M. Velayudhankutty, secretary of Kerala State Athletic Association.