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Bobby Aloysious for training in Finland

National women's high jump champion Bobby Aloysious, the first athlete from Kerala selected for foreign coaching, has joined the internationally famed Kuortane Sports Institute in Finland for a one-year intensive coaching stint.

According to reports reaching Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, Aloysious, who left Chennai two days back, has joined the coaching camp in view of the next Asian Games. The national record-holder is jointly sponsored by the Kerala government, her employers Customs (Chennai) and the Hinduja Foundation.

"I am happy that finally I could make it to the coaching despite many hurdles on the way,'' the 24-year-old ace jumper said.

Besides her on-field achievements, Aloysious recently hogged the limelight following a public interest litigation against the Amateur Athletic Federation and the Indian Olympic Association in the Kerala High Court.
She filed the petition after she was denied a berth for the Asian Games in Bangkok, despite being the SAF champion. In the petition, she sought "clear guidelines for sports in the country so that no more injustice was done to other budding athletes".

Aloysious was to join the camp by April, but legal and other hurdles delayed her trip. "The state sports officials and some friends helped a lot,'' she said, adding that she wanted to win a medal at the next Asian Games. ''It would be a kind of revenge against those who discarded me last time,'' she said.

Former Olympic champion Mikko Levok will be Aloysious's coach at the Olympic training centre in Finland. The state has given her Rs three lakh, while her employers have supported with Rs 3.5 lakh.

UNI