Relay Athlete Jyothika Sri Dandi Poised To Fulfil Dad's Olympic Dream

The Indian Women's Relay Team clinched a silver medal at the World Relay Championships 4x400m in the Bahamas on May 6. The team has now qualified for the upcoming Paris Olympics 2024. The quartet of Jyothika Sri Dandi, Rupal Chaudhary, M R Poovamma, and Subha Venkatan clocked 3 minutes, 29.5 seconds, to finish behind Jamaica by just a few milliseconds. Jyothika, with her stunning 51.36-second pace in the second leg of the relay, emerged as the hero who secured India its ticket to France.

Who Is Jyothika Sri Dandi?

Jyothika Sri Dandi was born on July 16, 2000, and belongs to Andhra Pradesh. She is a 400m relay athlete, a National Champion, and has also won a bronze medal at the Asian Athletics Championships. She told The Bridge that she took up sports to fulfil her father's dream of becoming an athlete. 

The 23-year-old relay runner got her breakthrough in 2021 when she won a gold medal at the U-23 National Championships at 53.05 seconds. Jyothika has never clocked below 52 seconds and continually strives to beat her personal record. Her pace at the Qualifiers on May 6 was 51.36 seconds.

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Jyothika suffered a knee injury in 2023, which forced her to halt her journey to the Asian Games 2022 in Hangzhou, China. However, she jumped back into her usual enthusiastic form soon after recovery. She said that it was her father's unconditional support that made her recovery much easier.

For Jyothika, entering the Olympics was not just a personal goal but also about achieving what her father always dreamt of. "He wants me to go to the Olympics and it is very hard to win a medal there. We try our best to we try to give our best and at least do some good show there," Jyothika expressed in an interview with the outlet. 

"All of us are happy here and it feels really good to be able to qualify for the Paris Olympics after a subdued first day," Jyothika told The Bridge. "I have taken up athletics to make my father proud. His dream is my dream now. I just want to achieve it and make him feel proud and happy."