Five years ago, the inspiring words of his mother, who was in the ICU of a Bengaluru hospital after testing positive for Covid, made long-jumper Lokesh Sathyanathan double down on his American collegiate dream.
Two days ago, Lokesh looked heavenwards while standing atop the podium after winning the top-tier indoor title of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) in the US, and dedicated the trophy to mother Felcy Mary who succumbed to Covid on that hospital bed.
The first person he called after winning the gold was his father L Sathyanathan, a retired taxi driver. “I just saw some happy tears on his face during the video call,” Lokesh told The Indian Express.
Lokesh’s fourth-round jump on Friday of 8.21 metres bettered his previous indoor national record of 8.01. He also moved to third on the India all-time list.
In a tight contest at the Randal Tyson Track Centre in Fayetteville, Arkansas, just one centimetre separated Tarleton State University’s Lokesh from silver medalist De’Aundre Ward (8.20m) of the University of Southern Mississippi. Tafadzwa Chikomba (8:15m) of Kansas State University was third.
Lokesh’s achievement put him in elite company as only the fourth Indian to be crowned as a NCAA Division-1 champion after Mohinder Singh Gill in the triple jump, Vikas Gowda (discus throw) and Tejaswin Shankar (high jump).
Shankar hailed Lokesh by posting on X, “Arguably one of the greatest long jump performances in Indian athletic history, It was a stacked field.”
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For Lokesh, winning the NCAA title was a cherished milestone. “First, I would always dedicate it to God. And then, for sure, to my mom,” he said.
Recalling that last meeting with his mother, Lokesh said, “I had one opportunity to visit her (in the ICU). She introduced me to all the nurses, saying, ‘Hey, this is my son. He’s an athlete’. She was holding my hand. She said, ‘I’m so sorry, I’m not there to take care of you. But remember, whatever happens, just go for your dream. And go win the Olympics.’ Those were the last words I heard from her.”
Pursuing a graduation in Health Science at Tarleton State University, Lokesh’s journey to NCAA gold has been about overcoming misfortune. Apart from the loss of his mother, a serious accident in Bengaluru had resulted in major facial injuries. Then, there was a freak injury in a gymnasium in Louisville that fractured the big toe on his left leg and, just six months ago, the passing away of his paternal grandmother, Paranjyothi.
For three months after his grandmother’s death, Lokesh had trouble sleeping at night.
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“To be honest, I was not able to sleep since September — that’s when we lost her — till December. It was pretty much the same kind of heartbreak I was going through when I lost my mother. Because I woke up to a 1 am call when I lost my mom, and I got a call at 3.30 am to inform me that my grandmother had passed away,” he said.
The 26-year-old had dreamt of being in the NCAA because he believed competing against foreign athletes would give him the exposure to excel on “bigger stages”. “I started doing research when I was pretty young (Class 10). The facilities, the things they have here, and the way they value and respect athletes for who they are. I always wanted to be here ever since then,” Lokesh said.
He represented India at the 2018 Under-20 World Championships in Tampere. But the next year’s accident in Bengaluru when a car crashed into him while he was riding a bike on the way to training was a reversal of fortune. “It was 7.30 am. My whole face was cut. My lips were cut in two. My jaw and half of my face were gone. I had to be fed through a pipe. The only thing you could see was my jawbone and a little bit of flesh. They applied customised fish skin, which adapts and helps grow new skin,” he recalled.
After the accident, his self-confidence took a hit. He wondered if he was good enough to compete on the NCAA circuit. His mother’s words inspired him to dream big again.
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Lokesh moved to the USA in 2022, but didn’t find success immediately. He attended the University of New Mexico before transferring to the University of Louisville, and then to Tarleton State University. “I didn’t have a great year in Louisville. I had to go through two surgeries because of an unfortunate incident when a teammate dropped the weights on my leg and broke my big toe on my left foot,” he said.
For the second surgery, the athlete, who is being sponsored by the Reliance Foundation, had to travel to India. When he returned to the US, Lokesh moved to Tarleton State University to link up with Bobby Carter, the head coach who specialises in jumps. “He is the most humble and kind person I’ve met. He genuinely cares. I feel he’s one of my closest friends,” Lokesh said.
When De’Aundre Ward took the provisional lead in the fourth round, Carter ensured Lokesh was ready to fight back. “My coach said, ‘Hey, I know you. He doesn’t know you. Show them what you can do.’ That fired me up to win the championship.”
