 |
| Reeni Tharakan, Thycattusserry, Chertala, Alappuzha |
| |
When Reeni
Tharakan, then in her fifties, entered the gym to reduce her
weight and keep
herself healthy, she had no idea of the difference between dumbbells
and kettlebells
even. But her keenness and potential
were noticed by the trainers at the gym in Vyttila.
And they were vocal that she takes part in
competitions.
So, she
entered the arena of competitions in 2019.
Slowly she started winning gold in local, State and even
National level
competitions. And recently, this
63-year-old
homemaker from Chertala has won four gold medals in the just concluded
International Power Lifting Federation’s Championship held at
Ulaanbaatar,
Mongolia.
A graduate
in English literature, she had her passion for sports while being a
student. However, after marriage, more
mundane things
like managing a home and raising two daughters weighed her down.
Her one daughter
is in US, while the other is running a restaurant in Chennai. Her husband has retired from Railways and now
drives her to the gym thrice a week. According
to her, it is such support from the family that drives her to excel.
At the
competition in Ulaanbaatar, there were more women than men. In the Indian contingent of 25, there were 15
women, she says.
According
to her, everyone should lift weights. It
is good for the body, bones and health.
Bharattimes
(text and photo), October 20, 2023
