CHENNAI: For triple jumper P Royshan, the strides are still settling, but the progress is already telling. After clinching his first triple jump medal in 2024, the Tamil Nadu youngster spent over a year on the sidelines with a Grade 2 tendon injury in his take-off knee. Racing against time, Royshan fought his way through to surge to the top spot at the Junior National Federation Cup in Tumakuru on Sunday, breaching the qualifying marks for both the Asian U-20 and World U-20 Championships.
Road to recovery
Ahead of the Fed Cup, Royshan had to clear the mandatory 14m mark, which he did comfortably at a State meet in March after just five days of training post rehab. A month later, still at around 70% fitness and under pressure, he produced his winning jump of 15.75m on his final attempt at the Fed Cup. “I trained for just a month before the Federation Cup, managing only one session a day without being able to put full load on my body. I am not satisfied with my performance as I was aiming to go beyond 16m. I will get back to training soon and focus on the technical aspects,” Royshan told TOI.
Humble beginnings
The athlete from Aruppukottai town in Virudhunagar district comes from a humble background, with his mother, a Tamil teacher, looking after all his needs. Royshan is training under coach B Indira, who guided national record-holder Praveen Chithravel during his formative years, for the past five years in Ooty. Like Praveen, Indira initially focused on combined events for Royshan, before he went on to win his first national medal in triple jump in 2024. Royshan could not compete in triple jump at the U-16 and U-18 levels, because the event had been excluded from junior meets a few years ago. The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) took the decision due to concerns over potential injuries, introducing it only from the U-20 category onwards.
Coach's perspective
“We started with multi-events to build him into an all-round athlete. That approach developed his strength, speed, mobility and endurance, which has helped him in triple jump,” Indira said. “Our focus was on the 2026 U-20 Worlds, and we began working towards it three years ago. We had doubts after his injury, but he remained confident. Going forward, we have to work on the bounding phase and at the Asian meet (in May) our aim is to get into the top-six. For a podium finish he has to cross 16m, which is difficult in a short period. But for the U-20 Worlds, he can definitely go past 16m.”
Upcoming competitions
While Royshan is set to compete at the Asian U-20 in Hong Kong next month, his place at the World U-20 will depend on his performance at the final qualifying meet in June.
