Kottayam: Help has poured in from different quarters for P A Athulya, a former national throw champion who has been living in extreme poverty.
Athulya, who was forced to work as a fuel attendant at a filling station at Thriprayar in Thrissur district, has received an employment offer from the Sports Authority of India's (SAI) Thrissur centre on the basis of her sporting credentials. She will join duty as an office staff on Monday.
SAI regional director Dr G Kishore said the centre would also provide training facilities to her. She will be allowed to train at the Khelo India Academy funded by the SAI, he said.
The action was taken based on a report published by Malayala Manorama on March 23 about the plight of Athulya, who hails from Nattika. After reading about her trials and tribulations, Kishore took the initiative to help her rise from the depths of poverty and provide wings to her dream of becoming a champion athlete.
Family to get a new house
The Rotary Club of Cochin has also come forward to help the 21-year-old and her family, who has been living in a rented house for the past 12 years, construct a house. The house will be built on the 3.5-cent plot offered to the family by the local panchayat, said Rotary Club president Sunoj Kumar. The office-bearers of the club had visited the family the other day to inform them about the decision to sponsor the house.
Athulya was a dominant force at the state school athletic meets, winning seven consecutive gold medals in discus throw between 2014 and 2020. She excelled in other throw events as well as she went on to win a total of 20 medals at state-level meets. Her records in discus throw and shot put events in different age categories had remained unbroken for several years. Remarkably, the record in sub-junior discus throw, which Athulya set in 2014, is still being held by her. She has also won four medals for the state, including a gold, at national school athletic meets.
After her father Ajay Ghosh, an autorickshaw driver, stopped going to work due to health issues, the family has been dependent on the meagre income earned by Athulya.
