The Rise Of PU Chitra: How The Daughter Of Wage Laborers Became The Queen Of Asia In The Mile!

“I don’t have the time.”
“I don’t have the resources.”
“I don’t know what to do.”
“You have no clue what my situation is.”

These are merely a handful of excuses that we hear from people that have massive potential and are absolutely wasting it. If you really want proof, look into our very own lives. How many of us have given up our dreams and passions in the name of practicality? How many of us have given up an “out-of-box” ambition to adhere to the society’s norm of “normalcy”?

The list is infinite.

So, what does it take to beat the odds and get ahead of the curve? Is it about money? Resources? Luck?

We present to you, the story of Palakkeezhil Unnikrishnan Chitra. Ring a bell?

impulsefreebird / Instagram

PU Chitra is an Indian athlete who won a Gold in the Asian Athletics Championships conducted in Bhubaneshwar in 2017. She also earned the title of ‘Queen of Asia in the Mile’ with a dazzling performance in World Championships.
However, behind this story of success and glory lays the history of sweat, pain, hunger and a poor family that struggled to make ends meet.

Born on 9 June 1995 to agriculture laborers, Unnikrishnan and Vasantha Kumari, PU Chitra was the third of four kids. While most athletes got a balanced meal even for a mid-morning snack, Chitra’s family could barely afford a regular meal. Eating the meals cooked by her family with rare occurrences of dry fruits, the 22-year old faced all the odds to reach the heights she has.

Being agriculture laborers meant Chitra’s parents had an unsteady flow of work. At times they were required to do menial jobs to earn money to put food on the table each day. While supporting a family of six, Chitra’s parents sometimes found themselves unable to get a job for a day, leaving the family to survive on leftover foods. Going to bed empty stomach was not uncommon in the family. However, that never stopped Chitra from being out of bed at quarter to six every morning to get to her government school for physical education classes. An undergraduate, Chitra completed her basic education from Mundur

Higher Secondary school in the small town of Palakkad, Kerala.

Source: Twitter

As a day-boarder at her government school, Chitra was given Rs.25 each day by the state sports council and Rs.600 from the Sports Authority of India. These funding were instrumental in Chitra meeting the needs for basic training.

Having been into athletics in school, Chitra’s talent and potential came to light in 2011, when she won a Gold medal for three races—1,500, 3,000 and 5,000-meter races at the 56th Indian National School Games that was held in the city of Pune, Maharashtra. In addition, she also won the Bronze medal for a 3-kilometer cross country race in the same competition that year. This was merely the beginning of how life turned around for Chitra.

The following two years, she won gold in the same races—1,500, 3,000 and 5,000m—at the Kerala State School Games. Following her win at the event held in Kerala in 2013, Chitra attempted a similar feat at the Indian National School Games and brought home a gold in both the races and 3-kilometer cross country.

stp_hindi / Instagram

Climbing the ladder one step at a time, the daughter of the agriculture laborers won her first gold at an Asia-level school athletic meet, where she finished the 3,000-meter race in 10 minutes, 5 seconds and 22 milliseconds.

Her list of achievements does not end there. She repeated the victory in the Indian National School Games that was conducted in Ranchi, Orissa. Here, she won gold medals for her section in mid-distance races.

At the age of 22, Chitra left the Asian Athletics Championships with a Gold Medal in 1,500-meter race. He recorded time was an awe-striking 4 minute and 17 seconds. As a sign of appreciation, the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council and Kerala Government presented Chitra with Tata Nano cars for her remarkable achievements.

And, in the middle of all this, apart from family and friends, one person stood by her and motivated her constantly. Her coach, Sijin N S. While she opted for athletics training in school, Sijin understood her financial background and admired her for her perseverance. He saw the fire and drive in her that was missing among several children that came from a fairly better-off financial backgrounds. If her coach was proud of her accomplishments, how her parents feel is not hard to guess. What more could they ask for with their daughter representing their country worldwide?

So, you think you have a hundred excuses to not go through with a dream or passion? Think again. Don’t wait for luck to strike. If you don’t know it already, luck has a strange way of supporting those who do not believe in it.

What do you think of PU Chitra’s story? Did it inspire you to get out there and achieve something too?

Tell us how you feel in the comment section below.

The post The Rise Of PU Chitra: How The Daughter Of Wage Laborers Became The Queen Of Asia In The Mile! appeared first on STYLECRAZE.

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