The Kerala girl, who took up
athletics without too many expectations and almost decided to sacrifice
her career for an engineering seat, talks about her finest hour and
shares her immediate dream.
The 4x400m Indian women's relay team's fifth consecutive gold medal
at the Asian Games was one of most talked about wins in Jakarta. It was VK Vismaya,
a second-year college student from Kerala, who sealed the gold by
holding off Bahrain's world champion Salwa Nasser in the final leg. The
21-year-old girl from Kannur, who took up athletics without too many
expectations and almost decided to sacrifice her career for an
engineering seat, talks about her finest hour and shares her immediate
dream.
In the final, Hima Das was supposed to be India's anchor
while you were expected to run the first leg. Was the decision to get
you two to swap places a last-minute one as is being talked about? What
led to such a sudden change in strategy and why?
We knew that Bahrain is a strong side and the best strategy would be
to gain a good lead in the beginning itself and maintain it till the
finish line.
But it was only decided on the morning of the final that I will be
the anchor leg runner instead of Hima. It was coach Galina Bukharina's
decision, and proved crucial as Hima was able to generate a good lead in
the beginning, which (MR) Poovamma and Sarita Gaekwad (the other
runners before Vismaya) were then able to maintain. All I had to do was
to sustain the advantage that I had while receiving the baton. To be
frank, it made my job easier.
Were you not nervous about this last-minute change? How did you prepare yourself
Of course. I was supposed to start the race and was suddenly informed
that I will be running the final leg instead. I had to run against
Bahrain's world champion, who had clocked 50.09 seconds earlier in the
event, while my personal best was 52 seconds. But our coach was very
supportive. She told me not to bother about medals and to try and give
my best.
How was the experience of teaming up with Hima, who is
India's latest sensation, and with Poovamma, one of India's most
experienced athletes. How did you four prepare for the final as a team, particularly when there was so much legacy at stake? Was it stressful?
Everybody expects gold from the 4X400 m relay team at the Asian
Games. Over time, the event has become a matter of prestige for the
contingent. Even a
silver or bronze-medal finish
was out of the picture, hence there was pressure on us obviously.
Fortunately, we were able to do well . Sarita and I were debutants at
the international level while most other teams were packed with
experienced athletes. But we still managed to do well. In fact, we
missed the Games record by microseconds.
During practice sessions, we had given special attention to the baton exchange so that there would be no room for errors.
Like you said, it was a given that World Champion Salwa
Eid Nasser would be the anchor-leg runner for Bahrain. For a beginner,
did it not felt like a huge challenge? How did you cope?
I was initially very nervous. But the coaching staff and team was
very supportive. Once the baton reached my hand, there was nothing else
in my mind but the thought that I should not let my team down. I could
feel that Nasser was getting closer but the tension gradually vanished
as the race progressed.
How did the team prepare ahead of the Games?
Some of us were sent to Poland for training and later another camp was organised at Guwahati before we flew to Jakarta.
Of course the final must have felt special. But are there any other special memories of the Games?
India's final four for the relay was not pre-decided. I didn't even
know if I was in the main team or not. The first three were finalised.
But for the fourth spot, there was a selection trial involving me and
three other athletes including Olympian Jisna Mathew from the Usha
school of athletics (who Vismaya had earlier beaten in the
Inter-University athletics meet at Guntur in 2017, to break a
25-year-old record). I had to do my best there in order to secure a
place in the team and luckily I could. It was a great memory.
The kind of welcome we received at the Jakarta Airport was also very
special. Many Indians living there came to receive us. The kind of
support Indian sportsmen received across events from the crowd was
amazing.
You were originally a hurdles runner, but later switched completely to middle-distance running. Why was this?
During the U-20 nationals in Coimbatore, I suffered a glute injury
and was forced to stay away from the tracks for a year. Doctors advised
that my back is not strong enough and suggested that I resume running.
Olympics seems to be the next big event ahead. How are the preparations going on?
Before the Olympics, we have the World Championship coming up next
year. As I said earlier, our team is a young one and hence need great
exposure and workout sessions to ensure a good show. The final training
plan is yet to be confirmed.
How was the reception back home on your triumphant return?
On our way back, Union Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore
welcomed us and later the PM himself also met us. We were received
really well at the Airport. It was truly motivating.
Coaches play an integral part in the success of sportsmen. Who are the coaches you would like to thank?
There are many. I became a competitive athlete thanks to Raju Paul
sir of St George School, Kothamangalam. I was watching my sister
Vijisha's practice when he asked me to join the trials. I am grateful to
him for identifying the athlete in me. I had decided to join an
engineering course but it was my teachers who convinced me otherwise.
I was a mediocre performer and could fetch only a bronze at the
prestigious Kerala school meet. I improved a lot under Paul Sir at
Assumption College.
My current coach Vinayan Sir's lessons were vital in my
record-breaking performance at the university level, and of course,
national Coach Galina's role goes without saying. She is very caring and
supportive.
India returned from Indonesia after registering its
best-ever medal haul. But still, the divide between us and first-placed
China is astonishingly huge. Personally, what do you think is holding
India back, and what can be done to establish ourselves as a serious
competitor on the international sports circuit?
We are improving. People like
Neeraj Chopra
are now serious competitors at the global level. Foreign countries have
better facilities than we have here. Be it the tracks, gyms, physio
treatments or anything, you can feel the divide between us and them
during the exposure tours. As a nation, we need to invest more in
sports. We are a big country and have many talented youngsters. It is
all about bringing them up in the right way.
How has your College helped shape your career?
Assumption College, Changanacherry is among the finest colleges in
Kerala for sports and athletics. The Physical Education faculty,
especially Dr Jimmy Joseph and Suja Mary George madam have been very
supportive and helped me make many important decisions. Our college has
one of the best basketball, fencing and athletic teams at the national
level. (Assumption College is a two-time recipient of the Award for the
Best College in Sports and Games in the state of Kerala. So far they
have produced two Arjuna Awardees, one Olympian, 30 International medals
and 41 athletes and players for India.)
What about the part played by your family?
Thanking parents would be awkwardly formal. All this would have been
impossible without their love and support. They give equal importance to
my academic and athletic needs.
Any job offers from the government so far?
Not yet. A good job is anybody's dream but I want to complete my post
graduation first. I wish to be employed in Kerala itself. National
Games winners were assured of Gazetted posts by the government. So yes, I
also hope to get a decent job.
What are your other big dreams?
A house for my family is one. We have been living in rented houses
till now. But my biggest dream now is to run for as long as possible
and take the country to greater glories, not only in the relay but also
in individual events.
Being a post graduate from a school of science was a dream of mine. I
had 95% marks for graduation. The thought of doing MSc Mathematics
faded as Assumption was not offering the course. Also, most MSc courses
include practical classes that could clash with my training schedules.
Hence I was convinced by my coaches to continue at the college as it was
the best place for my athletic career.
Finally, who is your biggest inspiration?
All people with whom I have practised and competed so far have been
an inspiration to me in one way or another. My compatriots, friends and
colleagues have taught me a lot. And then there are the icons like Usain
Bolt, who is an inspiration for athletes all around the world. We all
need inspirations to keep us going, don’t we not?
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story of vismaya
Weak link Vismaya anchors India to relay gold-
If the Indian women's relay team is a chain, there's little doubt
that 21-year-old Vismaya Velluva Koroth is the weakest link. And on
Thursday, she had to withstand the sledgehammer charge of the one of the
greatest runners in Asia, who was trying to break India's longest
running athletics streak at the Asian Games - four-time champions in the
4x400m relay.
This athletic mismatch would take place in
the most critical segment of the race - the anchor leg. No matter how
the race has been run until then, the last lap is decisive. Contests can
be turned around, razor-thin leads stretched by the strongest runner in
the squad. The last runner is a final show of cards and very logically,
that's where Bahrain would play their trump.
They had positioned
her royal swiftness Salwa Eid Naser, the Asian queen of the single lap,
to run the final turn of the race. Naser sprints the 400m in 49-odd
seconds (her best is 49.08s) like it's nothing. She has run the five
fastest races by an Asian this year without breaking a sweat. She is a
silver-medalist at the World Championships and expected to win it in the
not so distant future. On Sunday, she had even blown past the best
Indian runner at that distance - Hima Das - to win the 400m gold with a
Games record.
Standing alongside Naser is a skinny 21-year-old from Kannur, Kerala,
who has never won anything at international level. Heck, this final
is her international debut. She glances across at her rival and her heart pounds.
"My heart was going
dhad dhad dhad.
She (Naser) is one of the best runners in the world. I'm running my
first international race and it's the final of the relay," Vismaya says
later.
Prior to the race, Vismaya would have been almost
impossible to google. In contrast to the riches of Naser in the single
lap, Vismaya has a lone silver medal at the National Inter-Universities
in the same event. That's it. Nothing else. Nada.
That's not unexpected because Vismaya wasn't interested in an athletics
career until she was in class 11. The daughter of a construction
labourer, education has been the priority for most of her life. She
considers herself a student first, with A+ in her class 12 and another
perfect grade in her BSc Mathematics degree. She has only run
inter-school and junior national championships. She only ran the inter
universities because it was mandatory for her college.
That medal got her a place in the national camp. Vismaya says she is acutely aware of her inadequacies.
"I'm not as good as the other runners. Poovamma
didi has so much experience, Hima has won so many medals and runs so fast. I'm nothing like that," she says.
But
Galina Bukharina, the mercurial ex-Soviet runner, ex-US college coach,
who is now working with the Indian team, sees potential in her.
"She was a wonderful girl but so weak. But she runs beautifully. She runs so smoothly, That is natural," says Bukharina.
Vismaya
soon travelled with the team to the Czech Republic where the other
members tried to make her feel at home, even though she was shy and
stayed to herself. Vismaya managed a personal best of 54.21 seconds, but
it still wasn't nearly as good as her teammates' timings.
Vismaya
is only in Jakarta because of Bukharina, who backed her even when she
clocked a disappointing 53.30 seconds at the Inter-State Athletics
Championships that were meant to serve as qualifiers for the Asian
Games.
Many questioned her inclusion. A couple of athletes even
went to court. Ahead of the relay, no one really seemed to believe
Vismaya would be included in the high-pressure race ahead of someone
like Nirmala Sheoran, who ran the final of the women's 400m.
"The
selection committee asked me if I was sure that I wanted to take her. I
said I insist that Vismaya will come to the Asian Games," says a beaming
Bukharina. It was also Bukharina who insisted Vismaya run the relay
anchor. "Hima wanted to run the anchor. But I said no. Vismaya will
run."
It was a risky gamble. A day before the race, Vismaya says
she asked her family to pray for her. In a straight race with Naser,
that's about all the chance she had.
But there was bit of deception that Bukharina had planned. She made
India's best runner Hima run the opening lap, and its most experienced
runner MR Poovamma run the second, against two of Bahrain's weaker
runners. By the time Poovamma handed over her baton to Saritaben
Gayakwad, India had a sizeable lead. It extended to about 50 yards by
the time Vismaya tapped in.
If there's anyone who can chase down a
fifty-metre gap, it is Naser. But Vismaya didn't give her the chance.
And her team-mates did their best to spur her on.
"I could see that she was nervous. I just yelled at her in Malayalam.
Race yedithu wodu (Take the race and run)," says Poovamma later.
It
was a near perfect performance. Vismaya clocked her split in 52.30
seconds, nearly a second faster than her previous personal best. Naser
did her best, but the lead remained intact.
"I just wanted to make sure that I didn't let the team down," Vismaya
says. "So I just ran my hardest until I got to the finish line."
She
crossed the chalk and collapsed along with her teammates on the track.
India's weakest link had withstood Bahrain's best efforts, and kept her
country's legacy intact. While the whole crowd held their breathe at the
David vs. Goliath contest, just one individual, coach Bukharina, was
unperturbed.
"Before the race I told Vismaya, today you have the
chance to show India just what a good 400m runner you are. You have to
go do it."
And she did.
