KOCHI: The Kerala state schools' meet was once the hotbed of emerging talents in the country. PT Usha, Shiny Wilson, and Anju Bobby George first made their presence felt in these sports school meets before becoming the athletics stars of the nation.
However, for quite some years now, the emergence of promising talents has been on the wane in state sports schools meet. Physical education teachers and coaches of athletes are quick to blame it on the insufficient facilities provided to them and the lack of govt backing.
But two champion athletes, Abdulla Aboobacker and Ancy Sojan, who rose through the ranks from these meets, firmly believe that the state is not having a dearth of talent. However the two acknowledge that with the sports itself getting more professional these days, the role played by Kerala State Sports Schools Meet in producing talents is getting diminished.
"School sports should be treated only as entertainment. It can't be taken seriously. Such events help in keeping the sporting interest alive in students. But apart from that, it has only a very small influence in the development of an athlete," said Aboobacker, the silver medallist at Birmingham Commonwealth Games, who won numerous medals for Kalladi HSS, Palakkad in state schools meets.
Ancy Sojan, who claimed silver in long jump at the 2022 Asian Games, echoed Aboobacker's views. "I feel it's the stage after schools' meet that truly helps you to evolve as an athlete. The unnecessary stardom which you get at this stage will only do more harm than good," said Ancy, who won medals for Govt Fisheries Higher Secondary School, Nattika in state sports schools meets.
Aboobacker reckons that there is no dearth of talent in Kerala. "More stars will emerge from Kerala. But it might not necessarily happen through the state schools sports meet," added Abdulla.
"When we do athletics in schools, we compete in as many events as possible. But as the time evolves, we begin to understand which event is better suited for us and start concentrating on that. And the discipline we finally pursue might not have any relation with the event we used to compete in schools," added Abdulla, who switched from sprint and throw events to emerge as a professional triple jumper.
Ancy also felt that the govt, physical education teachers, and coaches should also look to mould athletes who emerge from such meets and prevent them from fading away.
"The road is tougher nowadays for an athlete. Under the present conditions, you can't expect support from govt even if you prove your worth. I know many athletes, who used to compete alongside me, just dropped out after some years. I am sure at least some of them, if they continued, would have become better athletes than me," said Ancy.
