Wearing brother's jersey, Pathanamthitta boy fulfils his dream with historic shot put gold at state school sports meet

Kozhikode: Pathanamthitta ended a seven-year wait for gold at the Kerala State School Athletics Meet, thanks to a stellar performance by Mathew Varghese Koshy in the senior boys' shot put event. Competing in Kozhikode, Mathew hurled the iron ball to 15.27 metres to secure the district's first gold at the meet since 2019.

Mathew also accounted for the district's only other medal in athletics, winning silver in the senior boys' discus throw with an effort of 39.86 metres. Thejas Pradeep of St Cornelius HS, Kolayad, representing Kannur, took silver in shot put with a throw of 14.63 metres.

A brother's jersey, a lucky charm
Mathew's gold-winning performance had a sentimental touch. He competed in his elder brother Christo George Koshy's jersey, who had competed in the same event at the 2023 state school sports meet but missed a podium finish due to injury.

Christo later handed over the jersey to his younger brother. What began as casual shot put training gradually turned into an opportunity for Mathew to become Pathanamthitta's biggest medal hope.

A Plus Two student at Panchayat HSS, Kulanada, Mathew is the son of Biju George Koshy, an instructor at Mylapra ITI, and Jai Mol George.

"I felt immensely confident wearing my brother's jersey. Every time I put it on, I believed I could win. I had performed well at the district level before but kept falling short at the state level. Since this was my final year in school athletics, I gave it everything I had. With divine blessings, I won a medal, and I am thrilled to bring glory to Pathanamthitta," Mathew said.