By Admin 
The far-flung and inaccessible Lakshadweep islands have no proper stadium, and track-and-field athletes there run on mud tracks. Despite the lack of infrastructure, 19-year-old Mubassina Mohammed, daughter of a coconut plucker, has become the first international athlete from the Union Territory (UT) and is fast emerging as a top long jumper in the country.
Mubassina, who is representing the country in the SAAF Senior Championships, has defied all odds, including financial hardships and lack of facilities in the tiny UT, which measures around 32-sq-km and has a population of less than 70,000.
Mubassina became Lakshadweep’s first international track-and-field athlete when she competed in the 2022 Asian Under-18 Championships in Kuwait, where she clinched a silver medal each in long jump and heptathlon.
She had won gold in the National U-23 Championships earlier this month with a jump of 6.36m, though World Athletics has not recognised the mark due to a lack of wind speed measurement.
Mubassina has also done 6.30m while winning gold in the National U-20 Championships, which has put her in the top six among Indian long jumpers this season. She recently came under the tutelage of the country’s top horizontal jump coach, Robert Bobby George, who runs an academy in Bengaluru with his wife and long jump legend Anju.
“The whole of Lakshadweep has no proper stadium. There is no synthetic track for running and no 400m track. I am from Minicoy Island which has one 200m mud track for running,” Mubassina told PTI in an interview.
“If it rains, we can’t run on the mud track and do the long jump. Also, if people play football, which is the most popular sport in Lakshadweep, in that lone ground, we hardly get space for long jump practice or running,” said Mubassina.
Athletics has been in the blood of Mubassina’s family as her father, Mohammed, used to do long-distance running in his young age, including ‘mini marathon’ races organised in the U.T. with prize money.
“My father is a coconut climber/plucker. People call him to pluck coconuts and pay him for the service. He also used to run mini-marathon races and get prize money. Even I ran a 6km race when I was in class V and got prize money,” Mubassina said.
“We have a small tea stall which my Mother, Dubina Banu, runs to sustain our family.” Mubassina said.
Mubassina’s childhood coach, Ahmed Jawad Hassan, is based in Lakshadweep’s capital, Kavaratti, but she couldn’t travel due to a lack of transport facilities. So, the family shifted base to Kavaratti for nearly two years so that she could train under Hassan.
“There is only one ferry/shift in a day to go to Kavaratti. So, you can’t go there and return the same day. But I need to do training. So, my parents decided that all of us will shift to Kavaratti for two years.” Mubassina said.
“My sister and two younger twin brothers took school admission there, and I also did my class XI and XII in Kavaratti.” Mubassina said. After that, Mubassina shifted to Kerala and trained at the National Centre of Excellence in Thiruvananthapuram for one-and-a-half years, before joining the Anju Bobby George Foundation.
Under Hassan, she competed in the heptathlon and long jump. But this year, she is focusing only on the long jump. In between, she went to Kerala to study and train but soon came back as she could not adjust to the food and conditions there.
Joining horizontal jump specialist coach Robert Bobby George — Robert came to know of Mubassina’s talent through some friends in Lakshadweep. The UT administration also contacted him and recommended her name. Robert told her to join his academy two years back, but she was hesitant as she was young and wary of staying away from home.
“She called me one day from Trivandrum that she’s the lone girl in the jumps group there. We have the best female team with us right now. So the idea was to introduce her to the best coaching methodologies at an early stage of her career.” Robert said.
“I told her, okay, six months later, there will be an observation camp. It’s not only the motor qualities, we have to also check the attitude of an athlete whether she’s ready for long-term business,” said Robert.
“We have certain parameters, one is physical characteristics, the second is the attitude. We measure both.” Robert came to know of her for the first time in Bhopal in the National U-18 championships.
“We have started investigations on her, like biochemistry test, bio-mechanical analysis, and other lab tests one by one. The next two years will be a challenge for her. Once it’s stabilised and she is 19-years-old or so, it will be okay for her.” Robert also plans to travel to Lakshadweep in December to meet Mubassina’s parents and have a first-hand understanding of the conditions she grew up in.
“From such a small island, somebody is coming to the international stage. So I’m happy that I’ve been instrumental in supporting her,” Robert added.