‘This is what my mother wanted’: Behind Lokesh Sathyanathan’s winning jump of 8.21m | More sports news –

There is a dialogue from the popular Kannada movie ‘KGF: Chapter 2’ which Lokesh Satyanathan remembers clearly. It is the moment when the protagonist says to his mother: “This is what I dreamed of.

This is what I will conquer.”“I always relate to that scene,” Lokesh tells Timesofindia.com from Texas. “The way he had love and affection for what his mother did for him. That one word he wanted to hear from her — when I think about it, it gives me goosebumps.”On an NCAA tight end night in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Lokesh Satyanathan jumped 8.21m. This jump improved his national indoor record of 8.01 metres, and more importantly, he became the fourth Indian ever to win an NCAA Division I title. The distance also propelled him to third place in India’s all-time long jump list behind well-known names Jeswin Aldrin and Murali Sreeshankar. However, behind that win were years of injury, loss and a belief shaped by his mother’s words and his father’s strength.

Road to Fayetteville

Lokesh, a health sciences major at Tarleton State University, moved to the United States in 2022 in pursuit of a dream that has already overcome his fair share of obstacles.Before the flights to the US and college routes, a serious accident occurred in Bengaluru which left him with serious facial injuries.

Then came a freak injury at the Louisville gym: A teammate threw weights on his left leg, fracturing the big toe on his foot during a takeoff. He had to undergo two surgeries, the second of which required him to return to India.

“It wasn’t a great year in Louisville,” Lukich recalls. “I had to undergo two surgeries due to this unfortunate incident. That’s when Reliance Foundation stepped in and supported me through the rehabilitation process and my return to the US.”When he returned, he transferred to Tarleton State University to train under Bobby Carter, the head coach specializing in jumps. “He is the most humble and kindest person I have ever met,” says Lokesh. “He genuinely cares. I feel like he’s one of my closest friends.”Carter’s training, the high-performance environment supported by Reliance, and the unwavering faith of his family have it all together for the next chapter of his journey.

The promise he keeps to his mother

But even before the surgeries and setbacks, there was a deeper scar. His mother’s death left him not only without a parent, but also without the announcer who always spoke to him in dreams. “I always told my mom, ‘Once I’m here, I’ll take you there,'” he says. “I’ll show you life, American life, everything. I’ll take you everywhere.”When he jumped 8.21m in Fayetteville, Lokesh looked up. “I knew she was going to have happy tears,” he says.

“I was looking up to the sky, but it wasn’t just the sky. I was thanking God and my mother. I know they are in the same place, guiding me.”

Lokesh remembers his mother’s last words as a powerful prediction. “She never asked me for anything big,” says Lokesh. “All she wanted was for me to be great out there. When I remember her face, her smile, the last thing she said, it makes me feel, ‘Let’s go.’ If that’s what my mom wanted, and that’s what my dad wanted, then that’s what I’m going for.”But for Lokesh, as much as grief is part of his story, he turns it into a yardstick by which he measures his discipline.

Support his father

Lokesh’s father once wanted him to become a footballer, but he had no support, no structure and no system. He later became a taxi driver for 10 to 15 years, driving late at night, coming home, then taking his son to training the next morning.Even now, at 51 years old, he plays regular 90-minute matches. The physical damage that would break most men is routine for him.

“This guy didn’t have anything,” Lokesh says in awe. “He didn’t get what he wanted. But the love and passion he had for the sport, he still went out there and played.”Six months before he captured the NCAA title, his father lost his mother, Paranjyothi. Weeks later, he was still telling Lokesh: “Don’t worry about anything. I’m here. Just have faith and keep going.”“It sounds simple,” says Lokesh. “But when you lose your wife, then your mother, and you still ask your son to carry on, it’s not easy.

This is power. If he can do it, I have no excuse.”

The mental game after loss and injury

Lokesh also had to fight his own battles. “I suffer from mental health issues and anxiety,” he candidly admits. “After the accident in Bengaluru, and after the surgeries, I wondered if I was still good enough to be in the NCAA circuit.”His mother’s words, at that point, came up again and again. “She always pushed me to dream big,” he says. “Even when I was down, she would tell me, ‘You have talent.’”

You just have to believe.”

Once he internalized this belief, it became his own. He now works regularly with a sports psychologist in the US, and treats his mental state as seriously as his physical training. “We athletes are 100% physically prepared,” he says. “But the results come from the mental game. That’s what I’m improving on.”He compares his path with Neeraj Chopra. “No one gets to this level without struggles,” he says. “It’s normal.

It depends on how you tolerate these stages.

Discipline after celebration

On paper, Lokesh’s jump of 8.21m is a record. In the Indian context, it was a statement; On the night he won, he did not extend the celebration. “The next day, I woke up and it was like I did it,” Lokesh said when asked about the feeling after the win. “I know I won the title. But now it’s next. The next day, I started training, fading and everything. The feeling was amazing.

It was amazing. I was grateful and thankful to God. But I never let that stop the process.His father, who was watching from India at 5:30 a.m., had tears in his eyes. “He gave me a flying kiss,” says Lokesh. “My aunt was crying in the background. I didn’t stop her. I knew they were tears of happiness.”When asked what jumping means to him outside of sports, he was direct. “Jumping is my identity. I was born Lokesh Satyanathan. Today, I am known as Lokesh Satyanathan, an international long jumper. This is my purpose. I work for God’s purpose and for His will.”

There is no threat in the way he says it; Rather, he is a man who has learned through loss and injury. On the scoreboard, it may read 8.21 metres, but for Lokesh Satyanathan, it reads something else: “This is what my mother wanted.”