The story of Santhi Soundarajan - A forgotten tale

Santhi Soundarajan in 15th Asian Games Doha 2006

Life is not always easy, is it? 7 years hence, I am reminded of a sobering tale that ignited the fury of a nation as much as it destroyed a human. Rolling back to 2006, the Asian Games which were held in Doha went by as it usually did.

Except.

The usual roar of the crowd was not wavering for the Chinese this time. A 25-year old Indian was making waves in the games as India held it head up high. Since the reminiscing memories of P.T. Usha, you wouldn’t really associate India with athletics? Would you?

But there she was, a person who had faced life at its worst and was determined to succeed. She had known hardships more than anyone else. The dark face of life was fighting an inevitable battle with her. But she was not carried away by that. She stood firm on both feet to achieve the impossible.

But reality betrayed her. A nation which was showering praises at her, within seconds started despising her. Destiny’s favoured child once, an enemy now. It was the lost pride and shallow prejudice that kept this woman from greatness, which shred her apart into pieces from which she never really recovered.

Those legs which should have hit their stride at London 2012 are now suffering in the heat and grim of Kathakurichi. Hands which should have been receiving the Olympic medal are instead lifting clay bricks. A nation which should have adorned their face with this jewel is instead letting it rot in the darkness.

Someone who embodied courage, a person who realized the impossible, a woman who made her nation proud has been tortured and made to endure the curses of a million who never dawned on the arena, yet have constantly underviewed her. She was a girl who showed the world it took only perseverance and courage to succeed.

The 2 minutes and 36 seconds she run in Doha in 2006 were probably the longest she had ever run in her life. Not only did she come second in the race, she also brought a smile to the faces of millions of people in her homeland, she gave hope to thousands of children who were in the dark waiting for a ray of light.

The single ray of light from her teeth when she received her medal enlightened up a whole nation.

But.

Who would have known but fate, that this smile would not go on to last forever. The silver medal around her neck, reflected the proud face of India, a country who was dying to see this for 22 years.

When P.T. Usha had missed her mark by 1/1000^th of a second, she was just 3 years old. Back then, she was just as normal as any of those living in the villages. Born in a family that was ridden by poverty debt, she was encouraged to start running by her grandfather who was a sprinter himself. At school, other contestants would be a country mile from her at races.

Soon the word started spreading about this little girl who was winning the local races for fun. She would waste no time and would keep on running around the perennial ring of dust around her hut. Often when her mind would stretch a thought as to stop running, the thought of her family looking at open skies would immediately kill it and aggravate her passion.

Ever since she was 13, her grandfather had taken her into his arms and had given his life to make her the best. He gifted her her first pair of shoes, something for which she would be indebted to him for life. She was a docile girl; her grandfather was her benefactor. He was the one who injected into her mind the passion.

A passion which would in the course of events, see her breaking the national record for 3000 m steeplechase. Not an easy task by any means for a person who had spent all her life not knowing whether she would have food for the next meal.

The fire in her heart had no chance of getting doused. Life came up with its fair share of challenges against her. But she was too focused on her sport to lose her heart on such things. After shifting to Chennai for coaching, her game had improved massively and she had conquered the nationals with ease.

International glory was never too far away. It was only a matter of time before this humble girl from Tamil Nadu humbled her fellow competitors to win the silver medal in the 2005 Asian Athletics Championship. That was only the beginning of what was to be a dream run for her.

The next two years of her life were probably the toughest she ever faced. The Asian Games in Doha arrived. Expectations had built up around her already. She carried in her the hopes of a nation, a nation that was expecting to make a mark in athletics in the international stage after 26 years.

Santhi Soundarajan

Destiny fell upon her feet. She had made her way to the finals with relative ease. As she stepped up for the race, you could see her eyes. Her grandfather’s motivation, her family’s condition, her nation’s expectation, her relentless passion. Those endless practice sessions, hungry wait meals which seemed to never end, the heat of the ground in bare feet, the dream of her life. As these memories rolled before her eyes, her heart felt a burning desire.

A desire to achieve, to win, to succeed. She took 2 minutes and 36 seconds to cover 800 m in the finals. She finished second behind Maryam Yusuf Jamal . When she let out a sigh of relief after the race, you could see it in her eyes. She knew that she had made her nation proud, her grandfather proud and beyond everything she had made a name for herself. It was the greatest victory of her life.

When she stood on the podium, it was for the entire nation that she was standing. As she received the medal, an entire nation was breathless. When she broke into a smile after receiving the medal, every nook and corner of India lightened up.

Within seconds, she became a role model for many. Songs were sung in praise of her. The chief Minister announced a cash prize of Rs. 15 Lakh for her. That is what she had yearned for all her life. A comfortable life for her family. Realizing that it was finally going to come true, it was the most joyous moment of her life.

Happiness and Joy never last forever, do they? No.

Destiny, which had for so long stayed beneath her feet suddenly gave way. Fate played a cruel trick on her. Destiny had joined hands with Asian Games Officials to enact a tale of perfidy against her.

She was declared as not being a female after gender tests. The greatest betrayal of her life. Her medal, the shining light of her life was stripped away from her. She had become the victim of dirtiest thing that could ever happen to an athlete. Her DNA had chromosome-combo which made her not female enough to compete as a woman in athletic events.

On the following flight, she returned home victimized by the media and discriminated by the same fellow countrymen who had celebrated her victory just days ago. The Athletics Federation failed to aid her. She was looked upon with repugnance. The people shunned her. This scandal had led to every single person forgetting the fact that she had won the nation a silver medal just days ago.

But that never mattered to them. All they wanted was to humiliate this woman and test her endurance against their countless taunts. The sting was too hard to take, even for a person of her character and courage. She had overcome obstacles all through her life. But this did not seem like an obstacle.

This was a stain. A stain that would never wear off. Something that would stick along with her wherever she went. The social torture was so immense that she decided to take one last look at life by using veterinary medicines. But thank God, she never made it to the end of that plan.

Soon after these life-changing events, she earned herself a job in the Police Department. But that stain, it never wore off. Here too, she was rejected as she was reportedly a transgender. She set up a coaching center for small children like herself who were unable to afford proper coaching. But the finance of maintaining such a center was a tad too much for her.

The Athletics Association seemed negligent towards any form of recovery for her.

“I was shattered by the failed test, the Athletics Federation of India did not support me, did not fight my cause. I was hoping they would. I was depressed. I felt like I had lost everything. It still hurts. I loved the sport so much. My dream broken, I attempted suicide.”

These were the words that came out of her mouth following the incident. The mere sight of these words are depressing, imagine the amount of pain she must have gone through. Most of the officials turned a blind eye towards her and never really allowed her to reconstruct herself.

She could have made a career out of coaching, but for reasons unknown she was denied a contract renewal after coaching for a stipulated period of time.

After many failed attempts to restart her career, she had no choice but to return to the same brick-kiln. She barely enough to make ends meet but the fire deep inside her heart kept her alive. The fire will never be put off. But, it is impossible to ignite it either.

There have been talks of her getting a job in the coaching set-up of AAI. Whether they are the truth or not is an entirely different issue, the very fact that something like this pops up is a huge sigh of relief.

A Tamil movie was made which reflected her story. It is believed to have been a personal tribute to her. After 7 years of keeping her in the dark, she is emerging out of it. There will come a day when the nation regrets what it’s done to her and realizes the gem that she was.