Malappuram: "One day I will also participate in the Olympics," a 9-year-old student told his friends while attending a reception organized for KT Irfan's return from the London Olympics. However, his friends didn't take it seriously. 

The student was Jabir Madari Pillyalil, 25, a former student of Pandelloor HSC. Currently serving in Indian Navy, MP Jabir is participating in the men's 400m hurdles after he clocked 49.78s to win gold at the Inter-State Athletics Championships in Patiala. Also, getting ranked 32nd in the world booked him his place in the Indian team for Tokyo.

Jabir does not know much about Japan.  He is learning more about the food and culture. He plans to know more about the country after reaching there. 

"There is nothing more proud than wearing an Indian jersey. I usually get calls asking what my Olympics hope are.  I have only one answer and it is to perform well for the country.  Hopefully, my best time will be in Tokyo," he said.

"For two years, I was part of the Indian camp in Patiala. The greatest desire of any athlete is to participate in the Olympics.  I am glad that I was able to achieve this. Due to covid, I wasn't able to attend any competitions. That's why I slipped down from 21 to 32 in the ranking," he added. 

He is the first man to qualify in the 400m hurdles after P.T. Usha. Jabir also says that he is proud of being a Malayalee, who qualified in the same category after Usha. 

When he was studying at Pandallur High School, he started competing in the 400 meters. After joining Thavanoor Kelappan Memorial Vocational Higher Secondary for Plus Two, he started focusing on 400m hurdles. Shortly after enrolling in the Kottayam CMS college, he was selected for a job in the Navy at the age of 19.  He is now a Chief Petty Officer in Navy.