Long jumper Nayana James’ ‘wilful delusion’ fuels Olympic dream

Almost all competitive athletes are inherently driven by a sense of delusion, a form of self-deception that drives them to leap for the unreachable.

Indian long jumper Nayana James is no different. Written loudly on her Instagram bio is ‘ParisOlympicsChampion2024’, a title she had given herself right at the beginning of 2022. 

Nayana’s manifestation – a form of wilful delusion – must have felt far-fetched to even her biggest well-wishers, considering she was closer to quitting the sport than qualifying for the Olympics.

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But on Sunday, the Kerala-born long jumper took a big step in her Olympic dream as she beat Asian No. 1 Sumire Hata of Japan to win the gold at the Taiwan Open in adverse, rainy conditions.

Incidentally, Hata is the only Asian so far to go past the Paris Games automatic qualification mark of 6.86m for the women’s long jump.

Nayana’s win in Taiwan, which came courtesy of a 6.43m jump – her best mark outside India – will boost the 28-year-old’s prospect in the Olympics qualification rankings race. In a career plagued by illness-induced breaks, sponsorship struggles and wavering faith in her ability, Nayana has managed to script a story of resurgence, powered by an endless reservoir of faith and support from her intimate circle.

Nayana’s athletics initiation though was a natural and smooth progression considering her mother was a state-level athlete, while her father was a volleyball player.

“Ever since my childhood, I’ve been encouraged to do sports by my family. They’ve been supportive. I started winning medals at a very young age. I went to the first state meet when I was in fourth standard. My father accompanied me then. That is a strong memory I have.”

Much like most of the athletes from Kerala, Nayana too worked her way through the hyper-competitive school athletics setting of the southern state, taking part in multiple events like hurdles, triple jump and 400m before zeroing in on long jump.

“These types of competitions have motivated me a lot. I grew up during times when the media focused on juniors a lot. I used to get a lot of attention, which has motivated me and helped me progress,” says Nayana.

After breaking through at the national level in 2017, Nayana started pushing herself beyond the 6.50 mark. A silver at the 2017 Asian Championship and a clutch of medals in the domestic circuit followed as Nayana announced herself on the big stage.

But just when she was about to push on to the next step, fate struck in the form of dengue.

Nayana’s husband Kevin Peter Oscar, a professional cricketer with the State Bank of India, recalls the ordeal they had to go through following that.

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“It was the second time she was infected with dengue. Her platelet count dropped dangerously low. Even walking was difficult for her. We got her treated and then took a long break before starting again. But after that, every two months or so she would be down with some sort of illness. It got to the point that she could barely run one lap around the ground.”

Kevin and Nayana, who got married in 2016, tried to shake things up as they experimented with different diets and training routines, without much success.

“Despite all these, she kept going for meets and managed a few medals. But to go there and see athletes with lesser potential than her win was a big hit, mentally and emotionally, for her. She was so close to giving up on the sport,” added Kevin.

And just when things looked the bleakest, the COVID-19 pandemic struck, which ground the entire world to a halt. But for Nayana, it was a blessing in disguise.

Under the strict lockdown restrictions in Kerala, Nayana was forced to abandon almost all of her physical training regimen, which allowed her body to recuperate and immunity to revive. A blood test soon revealed that her platelet count had returned to normal levels.

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“She resumed training with the Asian Games as the primary target. But then she couldn’t participate due to some issues. That was when I felt completely down. We had no sponsorship, we were losing money and we were not gaining any results,” says Kevin.

“To my surprise, Nayana got this shot of confidence in herself which was very refreshing. She was adamant that she couldn’t quit without getting to the next level.”

With a renewed sense of willpower in her armoury, all Nayana needed was a spark, which came in the form of Pinto Mathew, a former national 110m hurdles champion and a young, aspiring athletics coach based in Thiruvananthapuram.

Pinto had known Nayana from her childhood. He was a friend of Nayana’s brother and had vouched for her potential even when she was just 14 and was starting her career.

Their paths crossed again in 2017-2018 when Nayana made her first surge to the top of Indian athletics. Her primary competitor at the national level back then was Neena Varakil – the 2018 Asian Games silver medallist – who happened to be Pinto’s wife and ward.

And then came 2023, when Pinto decided to take Nayana under his wings, to help her give one final push to reach her best.

“She has a problem with her posture, genetically. Her right side and right leg, are comparatively weak, meaning there is a tilt. Most of her former coaches tried to correct that and have wasted a lot of time on it. Rather than fixing her posture, I tried to get the best out of her current ability with the right technique and minimise the damage her tilt could cause,” said Pinto.

Pinto pointed out that his training methods reflected on Nayana’s performance within just 20 days. The Kozhikode-born athlete kept the momentum on, registering a 6.52 jump at the National Games to clinch the silver.

Though a level-one certified coach, Pinto works outside any central scheme, which piles on the financial pressure of training and competing on both the coach and the student. But it was a trade-off Nayana was willing to make.

“I often prioritize the relationship we have with our coach. I should have that bond with my coach where I can share everything about the improvement and other changes I go through. It’s also about our trust in that person,” says Nayana.

Since the turn of the year, Nayana has gone from strength to strength, winning the Indian Open Jumps Competition with a new personal best (6.67m) and then adding a gold at the Federation Cup.

Her spike in performance has come to the pleasant surprise of Kevin, who is often taken aback by Nayana’s nonchalant confidence.

“The biggest difference in her performance right now is her visualisation. Her confidence in it is so strong that she predicts what she will do in an event. Before going to the Indian Open she told me she would do her PB and I was shocked. She did exactly that and when she came back, she acted as if it wasn’t a big deal,” says Kevin.

“Sometimes I feel she is a little bit crazy. Look at her Instagram profile for example. Even after all these years, I truly can’t understand her thought process regarding sports. When I ask her about the Olympics, she is not talking about qualification, but about winning a medal. She wants to get to the Games not by ranking, but by beating the qualification mark.”

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For all its individualistic ethos, the long jump, much like any other athletic event, is driven by the external element of competition. With Asian Games silver medallist Ancy Sojan and the up-and-coming Shaili Singh, the Indian women’s long jump scene is going through one of its most competitive phases.

But for Nayana, the outside noise isn’t a motivation nor a hindrance.

“I am not trying to be dependent on anyone. Neither I’m trying to defeat anyone. I’m performing for my mental satisfaction and my happiness. This is not to take revenge on anyone. All these athletes are younger than me. I just want to work to my full potential. I don’t want to connect my journey with anyone else,” says Nayana.

Despite all her composure, Nayana isn’t immune to the stress associated with her occupation. The 28-year-old has a go-to activity, to put her mind at ease, that has made her husband’s life a tad easier at home.

“I like household chores, but just the cleaning part. I rely on deep cleaning my home when I feel stressed to calm my mind,” says Nayana with a cheeky smile.

Much like her Olympic aspiration, Nayana has set herself an end-goal long and far from norm-driven expectations. 

“I want to be a ‘history woman’. I wanted my name to be recorded in history. As one of the top athletes in Indian history.”

Nayana’s conviction isn’t one that exists in isolation. “We don’t intend to just qualify for the Olympics and go on a tour and click pictures and come back. We want to make an impact there in Paris,” announces Pinto with unbridled optimism.