Gomathi MarimuthuFor Gomathi Marimuthu, the 800m event at the Doha Asian Championships wasn’t just another race. It was probably the 30-year-old’s last chance to prove that she belonged on the big stage after failing to finish on the podium in her previous two attempts at the same competition. This time she wasn’t left disappointed. The Tamil Nadu athlete exceeded her own expectations on Monday as she bagged India’s first gold at this Championships with a personal best timing of 2:02.70s.
But just three years back, life both on and off the field came to a crashing halt for Gomathi. In 2016, she lost her biggest supporter, her father, to colon cancer which, in turn, affected her mother’s mental health.
A few months later, she lost her personal coach to a heart attack, and just when she thought things couldn’t get worse, the 30-year-old suffered a groin injury that threatened to end her career. “It was like a nightmare. My father was my biggest source of strength and his demise shattered me and my mother. My mother is still seeking medical help to overcome the shock. And then my coach and the injury, things just went haywire. People around me said I should quit but I wasn’t going to go down so easily,” Gomathi told The Indian Express a day after her Asian triumph.
Her father’s treatment expenses had also left the family debt-ridden and Gomathi took the onus on herself to repay the loans. “It took me a whole year to clear it,” the youngest among her four siblings said.
Last year, Gomathi sought help from coach JS Bhatia, who has mentored the likes of PT Usha, Jinson Johnson, and PU Chitra. The seasoned coach guided her through the injury recovery and helped her primarily to add more pace in the final stretch of the race.
The effects were visible as she displayed great pace in the last lap of the race, coming from behind to outflank her opponents. By virtue of her gold at this meet, she has also earned a place at the World Championships to be held at the same venue in September. “Setting the pace is a very complicated process. We checked her timings in 200 and 400m and figured out how she should pace the race. She executed the plan well,” Bhatia said in a proud tone.
The person who’d be the proudest of Gomathi’s achievement, however, is no more. When Gomathi took up athletics during college, her father Marimuthu had to ensure she reached the training grounds at St Joseph’s College at 5:30 am sharp. The nearest bus stop from her village was 4 km away and the father-daughter duo had to leave home at 4am to walk it down. This routine continued for five years.
“He would get up before me and wake me up on time every day. He would be so proud to see my achievements reported in the newspapers. Even if he couldn’t read it, he would get the paper and ask someone to read it out to him. He kept a file of all my stories. I miss him so much today and wish he had been there to see me win an Asian gold,” an emotional Gomathi said.
In 2013, she joined the Income Tax department and moved to Bangalore, where she had to train alone for long periods. Despite being on the circuit for a long time, she never got a major break. Gomathi finished seventh at the 2013 Asian championships and fourth in the 2015 edition. She took part regularly in national-level meets, finishing a distant second or third behind Tintu Luka. Her inconsistent performances also saw her shuttle in and out of the national camp. But as the saying goes, she has arrived fashionably late. “Since last year, I have been training more rigorously. I am more focused and determined now. I want to win more medals for my father. I know he’s watching me and is proud of his daughter.”
