Full of promise | Shot-putter Krishna Jayasankar Menon
Krishna Jayasankar Menon, with her venerable family heritage in sport, is looking to represent India in both shot put and discus throw at upcoming international games
Ifeel sport chose me,” says Krishna Jayasankar Menon. Sport was, after all, part of her DNA, with her parents, Jayasankar and Prasanna, being Indian basketball royalty. But of the nine sports her mother put her in, athletics wasn’t one. That is, until her PE teacher at school suggested that her tall and heavy structure would lend itself to be a thrower and she give shot put a chance. Fifteen years later, Krishna, 23, is living up to that promise and looking to make history as the first Indian woman to qualify for the upcoming Asian Games and Commonwealth Games (CWG) in not one but two throw disciplines—shot put and discus.
Ifeel sport chose me,” says Krishna Jayasankar Menon. Sport was, after all, part of her DNA, with her parents, Jayasankar and Prasanna, being Indian basketball royalty. But of the nine sports her mother put her in, athletics wasn’t one. That is, until her PE teacher at school suggested that her tall and heavy structure would lend itself to be a thrower and she give shot put a chance. Fifteen years later, Krishna, 23, is living up to that promise and looking to make history as the first Indian woman to qualify for the upcoming Asian Games and Commonwealth Games (CWG) in not one but two throw disciplines—shot put and discus.
“I strongly believe I can be one of India’s strong contenders,” says Krishna. Having finished her time on the USA’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) circuit, where last year she became the first Indian woman thrower to qualify for the outdoor championship, she is itching to kick off her professional journey wearing the Team India jersey. “Every single day I wake up, the drive is to represent India,” she says. Having broken the shot put indoor national record thrice already and also qualified for the Asian Games, her next target is to finish in the top three at the upcoming Indian Athletic Series meet to seal her ticket to the CWG.
Krishna credits her seven-month-long training stint in Jamaica under coach Horace Michael Vassell, and then the five-year hustle balancing study, sport and work in the US, for her development as a field athlete. “It can be a lonely journey because while the world celebrates you, you don’t have a family to go back to,” she says. The real test, she admits, begins now with NCAA’s “safety net” gone. Back in India, she’s made a quick impression on the Reliance Sports Foundation where she is currently training under the guidance of NCAA legend Steve Lemke.
Krishna admits that shuttling between two disciplines is not easy. “It’s the same technical mechanism,” she says, “but your body goes through many changes because the equipment and holding position change.” In the budding stages of her pro career, Krishna hopes to ace both. “We are still figuring out which is my king and which is my queen,” she says. But India will hope both cards click to see her finish on the podium twice.
