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Subha Venkatesan, a member of India’s 4x400m mixed relay squad at the Tokyo Olympics 2020, has just one aim – to be called an Olympian. The 21-year-old from Tiruchy in Tamil Nadu did everything she could to qualify for the Olympics and with the Games just a week away, she knows it is only a job half done.
Subha Venkatesan has been hooked on sports since her schooling days. Having participated in sports day functions during her school days, Subha Venkatesan’s interest in athletics grew manifold over the years. Her grandfather, who was serving in the Tamil Nadu police, instilled more confidence and motivated her to take up athletics as a career.
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With almost 20 medals on the national circuit and four international medals in her kitty, Subha Venkatesan knew opportunities knock only once and she had to make it count. Subha Venkatesan scorched the tracks at the Asian Junior Athletics meet in 2016 and 2018 winning the gold and silver respectively in the 4x400m relay event.
At the Junior SAFF Games in Sri Lanka, Subha Venkatesan won gold and silver in the 4x400m relay and in the 400m individual events respectively.
Subha Venkatesan, in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, said:
“I have had a journey with a lot of ups and downs. Sometimes injuries would force me out, sometimes external factors had a telling effect on me and has made me lose concentration. When the Olympics trials came, I was determined to give my best. It was something that I wanted to achieve, I wanted to be there and here was my chance."
Speaking from the Sports Authority of India camp in Patiala, she added:
"I was determined to give my best and I have given it. I have always wanted people to talk about me as an athlete who has always given the best, under any circumstances."
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Her coach Indira Suresh from the SDAT pins her hopes on her wards’ finishing prowess and terms her a very good student of the game with hard work, perseverance and attitude being her biggest strengths.
Indira Suresh, in an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda, added:
“I first started coaching Subha in 2012. She was lacking a bit in endurance then. In her first competition in inter-hostel, she stood second, however, she improved her timing the very next year. Subha is a very good student of the game. She used to do workouts very regularly and used to train hard."
Indira Suresh backed her ward to scale great heights in the future as well. She said:
"She was always gunning for bigger things. I remember in a state athletics meet, when she took off in the last 50m eventually winning gold. She was trailing at the midway stage and then in showed her true potential in the end. That’s her strength."
Participating in the Olympics is a dream, says Subha Venkatesan
What was Subha Venkatesan’s biggest motivation for participating in the Olympics?
Having honed her skills at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) in Tamil Nadu, Subha Venkatesan was called to the SAI senior camp in Patiala in 2016. It was an offer she couldn’t refuse as it would take her one step closer to realize her dream.
“My interest to participate in the Olympics grew a lot after watching the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Since then, my aim has been to be called an Olympian and I always wanted to be one. Representing the country on this platform is an experience in itself and Olympics is the pinnacle of sport,” the athlete said.
The athletes – Subha Venkatesan, Revathi V, Dhanlakshmi Sekhar, Sarthak Bhambri and Alex Antony – have qualified in the 4x400m mixed relay event for the Tokyo Olympics. The qualification took place earlier this month in Patiala.
Speaking about her qualification for Tokyo, Subha Venkatesan said:
“The feeling was out of the world. We were shocked to be honest. Being able to run with niggles and being able to qualify for the Olympics is something big for us. We all had happy tears."
The Tamil Nadu athlete is focused and has a single-point agenda for the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
“I have learnt that nothing is impossible. If one can work hard, be honest and be diligent, there is anything that one can achieve. I firmly believe in this. I have a simple strategy for the Olympics. I am there to run and will run as if my life is dependent on it. It's just that one race, it's about that one chance. We (as a team) are determined to make it count,” Subha Venkatesan said.
Subha Venkatesan knows the Tokyo Olympics 2020 is only her short-term goal and has set sights on the Asian Games next year as a long-term goal. The athlete is also mentally preparing herself to make the Tokyo Olympics sojourn count.
“We have been mentally preparing for it every day. The workouts are intense and so is our training. We have been having an excellent diet to complement our efforts. I am in a positive frame of mind. I have set my sights on the Asian Games as well. It is one of the premier competitions in Asia and I want to win a medal, both in a team and an individual events,” she concluded.
