Abdulla Aboobacker: Taking the leap of faith for India

For Abdulla Aboobacker, the craze for sports started right from his formative years.

As a small boy in his hometown of Kozhikode, he was a fanatic sports enthusiast, avidly following and playing many sports, particularly volleyball and football.

Soon, his passion for sports funneled towards athletics when he joined a sports facility near his residence.

From sprinting to the triple jump, Abdulla's journey began

Like most boys, Abdulla initially focused on sprinting, competing in the 100m, 200m, and 400m events. His true calling came when he left home to join Kalladi Higher Secondary School in Palakkad, 100 km away from his home.

It was there that Abdulla was introduced to the triple jump, a sport he chose to stand out since others did not prefer it. Before long, the sport he chose to stand out in made him stand out in a big way. Abdulla started making noise at the local level in the triple jump as early as a year into training.

He became a national champion in 2015 and won the Junior Federation Cup title the same year. Things were looking very good for the teenager to go big, but disaster struck.

Injury Woes

From 2015 until almost 2019, Abdulla suffered numerous injuries that kept him sidelined for major chunks of the four-year period. In the small windows between injuries where he was able to compete, Abdulla continued building his reputation as one of the country's best triple jumpers, despite his injury woes.

He even won a silver medal in the 2017 Senior National Championship, but it was a brief moment of success in what was a very challenging period for the young athlete.

His injuries soon started affecting him psychologically, and financial issues arose as well. One of the few silver linings during these difficult times was his induction into the services team in 2018, which provided him with financial stability and allowed him to focus on his triple jump career.

Post-COVID Highs

The COVID-19 break proved useful for Abdulla as he used the time to prepare himself physically. His hard work bore fruit when he was called up for the national camp in 2022. His crowning moment came when he won silver in the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham with a best jump of 17.02m.

Since then, Abdulla has become a common name in the triple jump sector, going from strength to strength on the international circuit.

He furthered his accolades with a gold medal in the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok and narrowly missed out on a bronze medal in the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, where his 16.62m jump was beaten by fellow countryman Praveen Chithravel.

Nonetheless, thanks to his world ranking, Abdulla confirmed his Olympic berth and is now one of two competitors in the men's triple jump category, with Praveen Chithravel being the other.

Major achievements of Abdulla

Silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Birmingham

Gold medal at the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships, Bangkok

Fourth place finish at the 2023 Asian Games, Hangzhou

For a boy growing up amidst the shrubbery and forestry of what is called the God's own country, Abdulla now carries the nation's expectations as he takes centerstage in Paris.

His redemption from an injury ridden four-year period is enough to prove his mental strength and he will no doubts be raring to bring more laurels to the country in Paris.