One such story is of V Revathi from Tamil Nadu. She was only 7 years old when she lost her father and a year later, even her mother. 

Both Revathi and her sister were raised by their maternal grandmother who used to work as a labourer. 

Times were so dire that even during competitions, she couldn’t afford to buy shoes and used to run barefoot. Seeing this, coach Kanan spotted her talent and walked up to her. 

He promised to buy her shoes and even fund her college education. While in conversation with NDTV, coach Kanan mentioned that: 

When I saw her under the care of her grandmother at a small village after losing her parents, I believed such people would have the talent and good health. I decided to train her as only such people coming from humble background, I thought would listen to us and train. 

Revathi’s grandmother or paati used to receive flak from people for letting a ‘girl run like a boy.’ But she didn’t bother about any such things and always encouraged her granddaughter to run. 

Even her colleagues chipped in however they could financially. 

As per The Hindu, after so many years of struggle, she has gotten a job in Southern Railways as a Commercial Clerk-cum-Ticket Collector. 

Not just that, Revathi after sprinting 400 meters in 53.55 seconds secured a place in Tokyo Olympics in the category of mixed 4×400 meters relay.

She was dubbed as being the fastest among the women at the trials. 

From running without shoes to running for the country, the 23-year-old has really come a long way, all thanks to her efforts and the people supporting her through her testing journery.