For Subha Venkataraman, Revathi Veeramani, and Dhanalakshmi Sekhar, the upcoming historical journey won't be harder than what they had experienced while chasing their dream. After facing the obstacles with audacity and perseverance, the remarkable moment has come for the trio as they will proudly be representing India at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. 

The track is set at the Japanese capital for the world's biggest sporting event, which will kickstart in two weeks from now. The preparations have started in India to finalize the athletes before departing to Tokyo. On Sunday, NSNIS in Patiala, Punjab hosted an intense race and the competition was to determine who would join the Indian fleet for the 4x400m mixed relay race at the Tokyo Olympics. 

Finally, based on the outcome of the race, these three women from Tamil Nadu will represent India in the 4x400m relay race at the Olympics. For the trio, the Olympics is the dream track, and to reach there, they had braced and endured a Himalayan scale of poverty and obstacles in their lives. These three young athletes had never lost the Olympics track from their sight and kept running and chasing their dream amid battling the distress and financial crisis to make a living. 

As the sequel of their determination, the trio had cleared the selection and had become a part of India's contingent for the Olympics. Revathi, Subha, and Dhanalakshmi were flooded with wishes and commendations from across and beyond the borders for achieving a remarkable leap towards their dream. The trio is getting ready for their memorable journey from Tamil Nadu to Tokyo. 

All three were from different backgrounds but they share similarities in sportsmanship and their pains. Subha Venkataraman started her athletic career at a young age and she had moved into a hostel in Chennai to keep her practice on track. But, poverty had accompanied her wherever she went and by being arrested by the hands of poverty, Subha is still in a need of a job to help her in addressing the financial crisis. 

Speaking to a Tamil news agency, Subha has said that she has been trying to get a job and requested the state government to provide her a job. Another woman Dhanalakshmi Sekhar, who is a native of Trichy, has expressed a hope of making India proud with a medal at the Olympics. She carries a similar distressing story that of Subha's and while Dhanalakshmi has got her dream track in her sight, she is yet to get relief for making the living. 

She had thanked her coach and family members and said that since her mother had struggled a lot to raise her, she is hopeful that she will win medals and make Tamil Nadu and India proud. She has appealed to the state government to provide her a job. She said, "It takes a minimum of Rs 20,000 for me to participate in competitions. If I get a job, I'll meet my own expenses."

The journey of Revathi Veeramani is no lighter than the rest two athletes. Revathi and her sister lost their parents at a young age and they were raised by their grandmother in Madurai. Their grandmother had worked as a daily wager, which had put her in struggle in raising the girls. However, she had never failed to make her granddaughters happy. She encouraged the girls to carry out their extra-curricular activities. 

Coach Kannan had seen Revathi's talent on the track at her school and he trained her and Revathi's determination had made her fly to Tokyo. Revathi had already represented India in the Asian Games in Doha in 2006 and ended the race at fourth place. Besides being an athlete, Revathi works as a Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) in the Indian Railways. Her grandmother said, "My daughter and son-in-law passed away when the two children were a little over five years old. I raised and educated them." 

"The coach at the school said Revathi was good at running and told us to start coaching her. Initially, I hesitated and later I allowed her to go. Now I'm very happy that she is selected for the Olympics and I thank the coach for extending his guidance", Revathi's grandmother added. Coach Kannan said, "I saw Revathi for the first time when she ran for a zonal-level meet without shoes. When I had spoken to her, she said she wanted to study and that she wouldn't run. I had collected her details and spoke to her grandmother."

Kannan further said, "However, her grandmother had refused to encourage Revathi in sports. I had then enrolled her in college under the sports quota and asked her to come for training. I found her talent because my coaches have given training to so many sportspersons. When my coach Rajan came to see me in Madurai, he  had asked me to encourage Revathy for the 400m relay and that is how she started running relay." 

Dhanalakshmi, Revathy, and Subha are among the five athletes from Tamil Nadu who will be representing India at the Olympics. The other two athletes are Arokia Rajiv and Nagananthan Pandi (Men 4x400 relay). Speaking to IANS, Latha, the Secretary of Tamil Nadu Athletic Association (TNAA) has said, "This is the first time in the history of the Association five athletes have been selected to participate in the Olympics."