Farmer's son from Theni wins 800m Asian youth silver

CHENNAI: B Mathesh, who hails from Theni district in Tamil Nadu, won silver in the 800m boys event at the third youth Asian athletics championships in Hong Kong on Sunday. Mathesh clocked 1.51.48 to finish second-best. The gold was won by Japan's Allon Tatsunami Clay (1:50:57) while India's Sumit Kharab settled for the bronze at 1 minute and 55.81 seconds.
"My target was to complete the race in 1 minute and 52 seconds, and I am happy to have done that.However, I felt my timing could have been even better, and there is definitely sadness in missing out on the gold," Mathesh told the TOI.
The 17-year-old son of a farmer from Vadugapatti, a village in Theni, caught the attention of many during the National School Games held in New Delhi last December. "I won gold in the 800m and silver in the 1500m categories during that competition. While I have won medals in tournaments prior to that as well, that event made many notice my performance," Mathesh added. Subsequently, Mathesh reigned supreme in the 800m and 1500m events at the Khelo India Youth Games held in Pune in January this year.
His first brush with running didn't end on a winning note. "I took part in a zonal meet when I was in class V and didn't do well. Despite not winning a medal in the first few attempts, I didn't lose hope," Mathesh recalled. Once he got associated with coach K Kannan, things began to look brighter. "He has been a guiding light for me. Hailing from a family with minimal means, Kannan sir helped me enroll into the sports hostel in Madurai and there was no looking back. My parents were initially reluctant about me taking this path, but they are happy after seeing the results. All this wouldn't have happened without Kannan sir's efforts," said the class XI student of the American College Higher Secondary School in Madurai.
Kannan, Mathesh's coach for over three years now, is a hard taskmaster. "He follows each of my instructions without ever asking a question. I not only monitor his diet and workouts but also ensure he stays away from social media and unnecessary distractions during a tournament. In the middle of an event, his concentration must only be on the task ahead and not on anything else," Kannan said.
Mathesh's next target will be to clear his class XI exams. "Once I am back in India, my aim will be to clear the exams. I missed the exams due to this event, and will have to clear them in the coming weeks," he said.