From Body Shaming to Record Smashing: Krishna’s Story of Power and Perseverance!
When I was young, I had thick, untamed unibrows, something my friends didn’t. I spent years feeling insecure, threading them away with gritted teeth, believing that beauty meant pain and conformity. But as I grew, I realized it was just hair, a detail so small yet given so much weight by the world. The pressure to fit in had been an illusion, and my real power lay in embracing what made me unique.This isn’t just my story, it’s the story of many like me and of people like Krishna Jayasankar, who once struggled with body shaming but turned it into her strength breaking records one after another. The Unstoppable Rise of India’s Shot Put StarIn the bustling city of Bengaluru, where traditions intertwine with modernity, a fierce athlete has emerged Krishna Jayasankar, the name now echoing in the world of shot put. Krishna recently set a new Indian women’s indoor shot put record with an astounding throw of 16.03 meters at the Mountain West Indoor Track and Field Championship in Albuquerque. Yet, her journey to this pinnacle of success has been far from smooth. Born into an athletic family, Krishna inherited the towering frame of her parents, national basketball players Prasanna and Jayasankar Menon. But what should have been a symbol of strength turned into a source of silent suffering. In a society that often values delicate beauty over raw power, Krishna faced relentless body shaming.“I have the physique of my father, and growing up, people made fun of me. I didn’t realize it was body shaming, I thought something was wrong with me,” Krishna recalls. Even within her home, her mother urged her to lose weight, fearing society’s cruel judgments. But Krishna was not one to crumble. She questioned why she needed to shrink herself when her body was not a burden but a symbol of strength.From Body-Shamed to Record-BreakerThe turning point came when she traveled to Jamaica to train under coach Michael Wessel. There, Krishna saw athletes who looked muscular just like her but, powerful, and unapologetic. It was a revelation. “Jamaica taught me that my body is beautiful,” she says, the glow of self-acceptance finally replacing years of self-doubt.Her relentless pursuit of greatness pushed her through the challenges of the COVID-19 lockdown, training in makeshift setups at home. When the opportunity arose to train at Wessel’s academy in Jamaica, fear of the country's crime rates almost held her back but her desire to conquer the sport outweighed her anxieties.Breaking Records, Breaking StereotypesKrishna soon earned a groundbreaking NCAA Division One scholarship, the first Indian female thrower to do so taking her from the University of Texas El Paso to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Under the guidance of her current coach, Jordan Roach, Krishna fine-tuned her skills, and a breakthrough came when she surpassed the 15-metre mark, smashing mental and physical barriers alike. Today, standing tall and proud at 5'10", Krishna has no desire to conform to outdated beauty standards. Her record-breaking throw in Albuquerque wasn’t just a sporting achievement, it was a powerful statement against every voice that ever tried to diminish her.“I am living the American dream, but my heart is Indian. I will always represent my country,” she asserts.Looking ahead, Krishna has her sights set on the 2028 Olympics, with the Asian and Commonwealth Games also on her radar. Each throw now carries the weight of her dreams and the hopes of every girl who has ever been told she’s “too much”, too tall, too strong, too bold.The Beauty That Lies WithinKrishna’s journey is more than a tale of athletic triumph, it’s a celebration of self-love and unyielding strength. Just like unibrows are more than just hair, her muscles were more than just size, they were symbols of resilience, carved by every insult she once endured and every throw she’s ever made.Her story teaches us that the parts of ourselves we once hid can become the very source of our power. It’s not about blending in but it’s about standing tall, bold, and unapologetic. So whether it’s a unibrow, broad shoulders, or anything else the world has told you to “fix” remember, your so-called flaws might just be your hidden superpowers. Own them. Just like Krishna did.
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