Her father, D. Srinivasa Rao, a bodybuilder from the relatively obscure town of Tanuku in Andhra Pradesh, had hopes of making it big in the world of sport. However, due to lack of financial support, he had to quit. Nonetheless, he was determined to see at least one of his two daughters make an impact in sports. So, when his younger daughter D. Jyothika Sri helped the women’s 4x400m relay squad make the cut for the Paris 2024 Olympics on Sunday, his joy knew no bounds.
In this backdrop, Jyothika’s journey has been truly fabulous, from the by-lanes of Tanuku to making it to the Paris 2024 Olympics. She, along with her teammates Rupal Chaudhary, M.R. Poovamma, and Subha Venkatesan clocked 3:29.35 to finish second behind the Jamaican quartet’s 3:38.54 in Bahamas World Athletics Relays to qualify for the Paris Olympics.
Not surprisingly, the 23-year-old athlete’s career took a turn for the good when she moved to the Sports Authority of India as a day boarder in Hyderabad on the advice of her first coach, Vinay Prasad, for better training, facilities, and exposure.
“I was always confident that Jyothika would make it big, especially after she was selected for the 2015 World School Games 400m event in Turkey. That trip was possible because of Rs 1 lakh given by the then-local MLA A. Radhakrishna. Initially, Sitaramaiah sir (PET) in Tanuku trained her, and later, we moved her to Vijayawada after finishing 10th standard for higher studies,” the proud father said in a chat with Sportstar.
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“Yes, I am keen that she completes her graduation as she couldn’t due to the National camp and the COVID-19 pandemic. Our goal is that she should win a medal in the Olympics and make it big in the 2028 edition too,“ Srinivasa said.
Later, she was groomed under the Gopi-Mytrah Foundation, mentored by chief national badminton coach P. Gopichand, and soon Eenadu-Lakshya started giving her a monthly stipend of Rs 15,000 to help her dream big.
Winning gold in the 400m gold in the National under-23 meet in Delhi two years ago with a timing of 53.05 when she was with SAI athletics coach N. Ramesh proved to be the turning point for Jyothika as that also saw her join the Indian camp for relay runners.
As the second-born daughter in the family, she was lucky to see her father, D. Srinivasa Rao, who is into making iron almirahs and himself a bodybuilder, being more than willing to support her move to Hyderabad.
“What impressed me the most when I first saw her was her unwavering commitment, passion to keep improving with each training session at GMC Balayogi Stadium in Gachibowli here,” recalls N. Ramesh, SAI athletics coach who also has a key role in the Gopi-Mytrah Foundation.
Winning gold in the 400m gold in the National under-23 meet in Delhi two years ago when she was with SAI athletics coach N. Ramesh (left) proved to be the turning point for Jyothika. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“I think her strong points are endurance, her ability to finish the race and how she opens up in the last 40m. I have not seen many (athletes) do so good like her,” Ramesh said.
“She has the height, perfect physique for the 400m events,” he said.
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“All these relay runners are lucky for the kind of focus the Federation has been insisting on by having all of them at one place in the national camp. This is helping the Indians do so well of late in the relays,” he said.
Interestingly, the Indian women’s relay squad, which made it to the Paris Olympics, has been camping in Jamaica for one month. This was the reason the team was so confident of putting up this kind of a performance.
“Jyothika spoke to me before the last night relay race and sounded confident, if not over-confident. All I told her was to stay focused and not think too much about anything,” Ramesh said.
For someone who missed the Hangzhou Asian Games because of a hamstring, Jyothika has been doubly keen to make a mark and owes her success to the support staff in the national camp and the Gopi-Mytrah Foundation.
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