Palakkad: Overcoming a lack of quality training facilities with grit and determination, J Nived Krishna, a college student from Chittoor, has earned a place in India’s squad for the World Athletics U20 Championships to be held in Oregon, the United States, from August 5 to 9.

Nived will compete in the 4x400m relay, with the Indian team eyeing a strong finish at the championship.
Growing up in Chittoor, where quality training facilities were scarce, Nived overcame the odds through relentless hard work. Much of the credit for his rise goes to G V Raja Award-winning coach M Aravindakshan, who nurtured his talent and helped him develop into an international-standard athlete.

A student of St Thomas College, Thrissur, Nived has earned his place in the national squad with impressive performances in the 100m and 200m events at the National Junior Athletics Championships in Karnataka.
The youngster represented India at the Asian Junior Athletics Championships in Hong Kong in May this year. He has now travelled to the United States after completing a training camp in Mumbai under the Reliance Group programme.

Nived is the son of Jyothi Prakash, a railway employee and Lisa of Palode Ragath in Chittoor.

Two other Malayali athletes are also part of the Indian contingent. M Dhanush Raj of MA College, Ernakulam, will compete in the triple jump, while Mohammed Ashfaq of the GV Raja Sports School, Thiruvananthapuram, will compete in the 400m event.