Kottayam man wins gold at Asian Masters Athletics Meet

Kuravilangad: Chelakkal Joy Joseph, who mans the entry point of the Science City at Kozha, is no ordinary security guard. He’s a gold medalist at an international athletics event.

The 54-year-old recently won gold in the discus throw (above 50 years category) at the Asian Masters Athletic Meet held in Chennai. The international event had participation from over 4,000 athletes representing 23 countries.

Joy clinched the top spot by overthrowing 48 competitors from across Asia. A former soldier of the Indian Army Supply Corps, he served the nation for 26 years before retiring nine years ago. Since then, Joy has been training on his own, driven purely by passion and perseverance. His next goal is to represent India at the World Masters Athletics Meet to be held in South Korea next September.

As a youngster, Joy had won first place in the discus throw (Junior Boys category) at the 1984 State School Sports Meet. Though he couldn’t pursue formal training afterwards, he kept his sporting spirit alive and practised intermittently during his Army years. While he has bagged prizes in several local-level meets, this gold marks his first international triumph.
Joy is married Viji Joy, and their two sons, Ajay, who serves in the Army, and Ajin, a student.