He was around 13 years old when he picked up a javelin on a whim and achieved a 40+ metre throw straight out of the box. He was 18 when he became the first Indian athlete to set a world record, at the 2016 U-20 world championships. He fought his way back from a back injury, then a groin injury, then a 2019 surgery to treat a bone spur in his right elbow; he struggled against the restrictions of the pandemic to prep for Tokyo, and he ended up as the first Indian athlete to win gold in Olympic track …
Prem Panicker has been a journalist for over 30 years. From daily newspapers to weekly magazines and digital news portals—he was one of the seven journalists who were part of the Rediff.com start-up team—he has written and edited features extensively across mediums and publications. Since quitting his job at Yahoo in 2014, he has been working as a freelance writer and editor, as well as teaching narrative journalism.
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