From a village laughing stock to Rio, Ganapathi Krishnan walks tall
Synopsis
Name: Ganapathi Krishnan Sport: Race Walking Achievements: 2016 National Championships – Race Walking- Silver 2016 Asian Championships - Rank 5 2016 World Championship – Rank 22
Race walker Ganapathi Krishnan hails from Kone Goundanur, a remote village in Tamil Nadu's Krishnagiri district where people have neither heard about race walking nor about Olympics.
This 27-year-old athlete who finished 5th in the Asian Championships and came 22nd in the 2016 World Cup feels highly discouraged in his village where people think what he is doing is just a waste of time and money.
“We used to find it funny when Ganapathi used to come home and practice race walking. We never knew that this was a sport. We only believed him when he showed us videos of it. But to the rest of the villagers, it still looks ridiculous,” a resident of the village told The New Indian Express.
His farmhand parents who still live in a mud house, however, have been extremely supportive of their son’s sporting dream.
His family believes he is a born athlete who knew he wanted to make it to the big leagues right from the time he was a child. “I used to play volleyball for my school. But I had never taken part in an athletic event before I joined the army,” he said.
During his leisure time, he would climb the hills in a nearby forest and collect honey; this is secret behind his fitness, he claims
Barely six years after he started training to be a race walker, he started winning international races.
Krishnan’s father is well aware of the sport, his son’s achievements and is extremely proud of him. However, he feels there is no financial motivation in this game. “Money is one thing Ganapathi has never brought home,” he said ruefully.
The entire family survives on a budget of ₹5000 a month, and when Ganapathi sought ₹ 2 lakh to prepare for the summer Olympics, his father felt helpless.
“He sometimes calls and asks for money for training and equipment. We sent him 25 or 30 thousand. His elder brother Thirupathy, who is in the army, supports him a lot. But for the Olympics, he needed a lot more money for equipment and food. So we had to take out a loan of around ₹3 lakh,” he added.
His family feels extremely betrayed when they see the government turning a blind eye to these extraordinary sportsmen. “He has never received any financial assistance from the state government, despite winning all this,” his distressed father mourned.