It is 8 am and Kajal Vernekar is at the Fatorda groundstraining with the Sports Authority of India (SAI) coach Audesh Kumar. She ispracticing the javelin throw, shot put and long jump. The practice sessions donot cease any day of the week. She sweats dedication and so does her coach withwhom she has been training for five years now.
Kajal, who is in class 11 of Commerce in the R M SalgaonkarHigher Secondary School, participated in the 24th National inter-zonalathletics championship organised by Athletic Federation of India thisSeptember. She won a silver medal for the shot put and a bronze for the javelinthrow.
“My tryst with sports began when I was in class 3. I beganwith karate and started playing handball,” says Kajal. She gradually took upathletics and participated in her first national event in 2008 “ the JuniorNationals Championship U-14 “ and won a bronze for the triathlon.
When asked about her greatest feat, she says, “I gave mylife’s best for the 24th West Zone Junior athletics that were held in August.”She won gold medals for the shot put and the javelin throw events. Kajal alsoset a new record for shot put in 2009 at the State level Championship U-14where she won gold for a distance of 8.69 m.
For her age, Kajal uses the 4 kg shot put, but the javelinsfor different events vary. “There are javelins made of bamboo which cost Rs2,000. Then there are aerodynamic ones which cost Rs 25,000 and there are alsothose which cost Rs 1-2 lakh. For the inter-zonal athletics, we used thejavelin that cost Rs 1-2 lakhs and for West Zone athletics we used theaerodynamic javelin. I recently purchased an aerodynamic javelin worth Rs 25000,”she says. The javelin was not available in Goa, and Kajal got hers afterplacing an order at a store in Panjim.
About her plans for the future, Kajal says she is seriousabout sports and will continue practicing and participating in events and she ultimatelyaims to win at international events.
