Mythili, a 24-year-old fencing athlete hailing from Tirupur is a recipient of several prizes and medals at the national and state level, dreams to play for India in the Olympics and International events and make India proud. However, being hit by poverty makes the athlete struggle in achieving her dreams.
Marimuthu, father of Mythili resides at Sukkampalayam village near Palladam in Tirupur district. He and his wife Lakshmi are power loom workers. Mythili, the only daughter of Marimuthu and Lakshmi couple, holds a degree in BA English and a degree in Physical Education from the Tamil Nadu College of Physical Education in Chennai.
Keenly interested in sports since childhood, Mythili has been collecting many sports-related news from magazines. While doing her schooling in Namakkal, she chose to take proper training in fencing and made her debut in District level competitions and later began touching heights at the National level. Due to family circumstances, Mythili has been working as a temporary Physical education teacher at a private school in Chennai.
Owing to Covid-19 lockdown, Mythili lost her job due to the closure of all schools and has been forced to work as a laborer in a power loom which is her parents’ profession for years. With anguish, Mythili said that she has been forced to work in power loom to help her father which is the only way to fulfill their livelihood, despite accumulating medals and prizes.
Meanwhile, Mythili who owns various achievements, said that she won a state-level fencing competition held in Namakkal in the year 2009 and later won second place at the national level women’s fencing competition in Kolkata. She then bagged third place in the national level fencing competition held in 2013 and brought pride to Tamil Nadu. She also secured second and third place in West Bengal and Maharashtra respectively. Mythili also bagged notable places in the last 2014, 15′ and 16′ respectively in the competitions held in Maharashtra, Kerala and Orissa.
Being born in a power loom worker family at a modest village in Palladam, Mythili has chosen a different path in athletics and has excelled in various competitions at the state, national and district levels. Her amassed certificates and medals brought Mythili an opportunity to play for Kerala state. But she denied the invite and said she would play only for her mother state Tamil Nadu.
“I was born in a small village and my parents have spent in lakhs to showcase my talents", Mythili said. “My goal is to make India, my hometown and my parents proud by winning gold at the Olympics if the government provides aid to support and encourage me in getting required training," she added.
In no doubt, Mythili would grab more success and add pride to the country and her state, if the TN Govt provides immediate assistance and required training to Mythili.
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