Sanju Samson Foundation adopts two athletes who impressed at Kerala State School Athletics

General Education Minister V Sivankutty said ace cricketer Sanju Samson has agreed to adopt two athletes who impressed at the Kerala State School Sports & Games (Kayikamela) in Thiruvananthapuram.

"The Sanju Samson Foundation will adopt Devapriya Shaibu, who set a meet record in sub-junior girls 100 metre and Athul T M, the record-breaker in junior boys 100m and 200m races," Minister Sivankutty shared Sanju's message.

"What caught my attention was how they fought difficulties in life to succeed," Sanju said in his message.

"A strong support might help these children reach the national level and even the Olympic stage. As a result of that, these children will be provided travel and accommodation to attend state and national-level competitions and provided the help of a professional athletics coach," the Indian cricketer said.

Devapriya of CHS Calvary Mount in Idukki clocked 12.69 seconds to set a meet record. Athul of DV HSS, Charamangalam, set a meet record in 10.81 seconds for the 100m. The Alappuzha lad also broke the 200 m meet record with an impressive timing of 21.87 seconds.

The Sanju Samson Foundation launched in 2023 says its mission is 'to empower India's youth by promoting sports, building community and creating long-term social impact'. 

Sanju, a native of Thiruvananthapuram, was the brand ambassador of the week-long Kayikamela held across 12 venues in the state capital. The Kayikamela concluded on Tuesday. Sanju is with the Indian men's cricket team preparing for a T20I series in Australia.