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.
