At the South Asian Junior Athletics Championships, held at Chennai’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Unnathi Aiyappa clocked 13.93 seconds in the women’s 100m hurdles on the second day, securing a gold medal and her spot at the top of the podium.
Unnathi trains in Bengaluru under the guidance of her father and coach, quarter-miler BP Aiyappa. She has consistently shown her talent on the track. Earlier this year, she won a bronze medal in the same event at the Asian U20 Athletics Championship held in Dubai with a time of 13.66 seconds. Despite her achievements, she has faced her share of difficulties.
Reflecting on her gold medal win, Unnathi admitted, “I was very frustrated. I thought I was actually going to come second. I just pushed at the very last; I was very scared. My body didn’t move, I think. I’m not at my peak.”
She attributed some of her struggles to extensive travel, which led to jet lag and impacted her performance at the 2024 World Athletics U-20 Championships held in Lima in late August, where she clocked 13.92 seconds.
“Going there was a two-day journey and coming back was three days. So, jet lag is still there,” she explained. Although she achieved a personal best of 13.65 seconds in Dubai, falling ill after returning affected her performance in Lima.
Despite these setbacks, Unnathi remains positive. “There’s always a next time. I’ll do better next time,” she said.
The pressure of having an Olympian mother, Pramila Gudanda Aiyappa—who finished 24th in the heptathlon at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and 27th at the 2008 Beijing Olympics—is something she’s learned to manage.
“Yeah, there is pressure, but I’m okay with that. I’ve been doing this for a really long time. Champions do well under pressure,” she added.
On the track, friendships are set aside for competition. Unnathi’s friend Sabita Toppo, who won silver with a time of 13.96 seconds, was her competitor.
“We had been participating together for a long time. It was a very close finish. She had been a close friend, but when it’s on the track, there are no close friends—it’s a competition,” she explained.
Unnathi also respects her competitors from Sri Lanka. “Sri Lankans are good, and it’s a great competition for us. When we see them, we can work better and compete more against them. It’s better for us,” she says.
Despite her win, Unnathi was not entirely satisfied with her race. “The track was fast, but I didn’t run well, so I’m not happy. I think I didn’t run the whole race well because my start was bad. That’s the reason I couldn’t catch up. Only my finishing was good enough to get first. But I’m very disappointed really.”
Going forward, Unnathi aims to focus on the Junior Nationals and the university games.
“I really want the national record in my hand. I wanted it now, but I couldn’t get it. So, in two months more, I’ll work for that.”
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