THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The first gold medal winner in athletics at the State School Sports Meet doesn’t have a house of her own. She ran wearing spikes gifted by kind-hearted well-wishers. Iniya M, who won gold after battling poverty, is an eighth-grade student at Parali High School in Palakkad. She beat her senior competitors to win gold in the Senior Girls 3,000-meter race, finishing in 10 minutes and 56.67 seconds.

Though she belongs to the sub-junior category by age, her physical education teacher P.G. Manoj recognised her talent in long-distance running and encouraged her to compete in the senior category. This is Iniya’s first year at Parali School. Noticing her dedication- training regularly without being asked- Manoj entered her in the 600-meter event at the district junior athletics

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