New Delhi: As first impressions go, Krishna Jayasankar comes across as an effervescent bundle of energy. She speaks in quick bursts, isn’t shy about her insecurities, and is unabashed about her ambitions. Ebullience alone isn’t her calling card though. The 23-year-old is also a pretty decent shot putter.
Decent enough to hold her own in the elite NCAA system. Decent enough to set the national indoor record thrice. And certainly decent enough to think she can be nearly as good outdoors without actually having much of a pedigree. Yet.
Come May 10, Krishna will be in action on her home turf in Chennai at the Indian Athletics Series. Later this month (May 22-25), she’ll line up at the Federation Cup in Ranchi which will serve as the selection trial for this year’s Commonwealth Games.
“I haven’t competed at home so far, so I’m certainly looking forward to it. I haven’t made the senior India team yet, but this time, I want to set that anomaly straight,” she said.
Krishna’s confidence stems from her recent fine run. This January, she won the New Mexico Team Open in Albuquerque with a 16.63m throw to set the national mark. Two weeks later, she hurled the iron ball 16.83m to win the Don Kirby Elite Invitational, also in Albuquerque, improving the record. Later that month, at the Mountain West Indoor Track and Field Championships, she logged 17.09m to reset the mark once again.
“It was a brilliant quarter for me. My training came together nicely and I could feel my body and mind in sync,” said Krishna, who is pursuing her Master’s in Higher Education at the University of Nevada. Currently coached by Reliance Foundation’s Steve Lemke, Krishna routinely competes in both shot put and discus throws.
“It’s tough, but I enjoy the grind,” Krishna, who has been practising the two disciplines since her junior days, said. “They may appear similar disciplines from afar but shot put and discus require very different techniques. You have to train different muscle groups for them. While shot putters do a lot of bench presses and upper body work, discus throwers rely heavily on power cleans to build explosive power. A lot of this adjustment is mental as well.”
Born to former India basketball players Prasanna and Jayasankar Menon, sport was always a way of life for Krishna. But what changed her perspective towards sports — and life — was her stint overseas. In 2019, Krishna met Jamaican coach Horace Michael Vassell during his visit to India and the latter persuaded her to try the NCAA route.
Next year, Krishna moved to Kingston and a whole new world opened up to her. “Here I was in India, body-shamed and doubted because I was tanned, tall and muscular. Jamaica welcomed me with open arms. I saw girls like me around, confident of their skills and comfortable in their bodies. It was a big confidence boost,” she recalled.
As a scouting vanguard for American coaches, it took Krishna only seven months to be spotted. Her American dream began at the University of Texas at El Paso, and in the five years since, she has trained under three different coaches.
“Every coach has a different pedagogy. It is important to know what’s best for you. Under Steve (her current coach), there’s a lot of unlearning and relearning, but I guess that’s the leap I had to take if I were to break into the national team,” she said.
While that will be decided in a few weeks, Krishna already has her next target in sight. She is gunning for Abha Khatua’s outdoor national record in shot put (18.41m). “To hold both the indoor and outdoor records will be cool. I feel my body is ready.”
