In the last eight months, sprinter Jilna VM who finished second behind India’s fastest runner Dutee Chand in 100m at the Fed Cup on Sunday, has met her 18-month-old daughter just once. The 24-year-old Kerala athlete has been training in Kollam, about seven hours by road from her in-law’s house in Palakkad where her child and father stay. Despite it being just an overnight journey, Jilna refrains from visiting home as it would disrupt her training.
“Since I am away for so long that during one of our calls she called me chechi (elder sister) instead of mother. It hurt. It feels terrible that I can’t be with my own baby but if I go for even one day, my training pattern will derail. I have worked really hard to get back in shape after childbirth. I am doing sports for my passion and family so this is a cross I will have to bear,” says Jilna, who is competing in her first competition post her daughter’s birth.
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