Bobby Aloysius

Bobby Aloysius (born 22 June 1974) is a female athlete from India now residing in the Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. She held Indian and south Asian record in high jump between 1995 and 2012. Her record jump of 1.91 mts lost in 2012 by Karnataka's Sahanakumari. 

Contents

• Olympian Bobby Aloysius receives Dhyan Chand award
• Interactions with Yelena Yelesina
• Achievements
• Family Details
• Husband Shajan Skariah
• Children
• Daughter Gangotri Skariah
• 2018 Dhyan Chand Award
• References

Bobby participated the Athens Olympics, After her return from the 2004 Athens Olympics, Bobby decided to retire from professional high jump. Unfortunately, her performance in Athens did not allow her to proceed to the final round. She ended in the 28th spot during the qualification stage, achieving a height of 1.85 meters.

Bobby Aloysius had the opportunity to train with the renowned English high jump coach, Denis Doyle, for a period of 1.5 years. Prior to her training stint in England under Denis Doyle, Bobby Aloysius had achieved a high jump of 1.88 meters. Her skills significantly enhanced under his guidance, enabling her to set a national record with a jump of 1.91 meters.

She won silver in Busan Asian Games and won gold in Jakarta Asian Championship.

Bobby was born in Chemperi, Kannur, Kerala, India. Bobby travelled around the world several times and eventually lived in Shrewsbury, United Kingdome until 2009. Now she also worked as the assistant secretary(technical) of Kerala state sports council in Thiruvananthapuram. She is married to a journalist, Shajan Scaria. She is an alumnus of Calicut University.

She is working as the Superintendent of Customs in Chennai.

Interactions with Yelena Yelesina

In her interactions with fellow athletes, Bobby found a unique ally in Yelesina. Contrary to the typical detachment observed among top-ranked athletes towards those they consider less skilled, Yelesina stood out.

According to Bobby, Yelesina willingly trained alongside her and provided invaluable advice to help improve her high jump technique. Bobby described Yelesina's generosity and supportive nature as 'exceptional,' a testament to her character in a highly competitive sport.

Achievements

2000

1st place at the Asian Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia (1.83m)

2002

4th place at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, UK (1.87m)

2nd place at the Asian Championships in Colombo, Sri Lanka (1.84m)

2nd place at the Asian Games in Busan, South Korea (1.88m)

2003

4th place at the Asian Championships in Manila, Philippines (1.80m)

2nd place at the Afro-Asian Games in Hyderabad, India (1.88m)

2004

2nd place at the Asian Indoor Championships in Tehran, Iran (1.81m)

28th place at the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece (1.85m)

Family Details

Husband Shajan Skariah

Shajan Skariah is the creator and lead news anchor for an internet-based broadcasting service called Marunadan TV.

Children

Bobby and Shajan have three children, Stefan Holm Skariah, Gangotri Skariah and Ritwik Skariah.

Daughter Gangotri Skariah

Gangotri Skariah, a multi-sport athlete and the daughter of Bobby Aloysius, the renowned Olympian and former Asian high jump champion, has dabbled in basketball, athletics, and cricket. Of late, she also delevoped a keen interest in golf. She initiated her golf journey three years prior at the SAI Golf Academy and has since competed in her second tournament, the IGU Synthite-CIAL South Zone championship, clinching the fifth position in her age category.

As an athlete, Gangotri appreciates individual sports like athletics and golf, a viewpoint she maintains while pursuing her education at Thiruvananthapuram's Infant Jesus School. In a unique approach to high jump training, Gangotri employs the scissors style, a technique imparted by her coach, Athira Surendran, a previous jumper. This style deviates from the commonly adopted fosbury flop method.

Given the lack of a high jump pit at the Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium, she has adapted to training on a long jump pit, an endeavour that has yielded commendable results, including a second place finish in district-level competition.

Given the escalating qualification requirements for major high jump events, Bobby is convinced that Gangotri holds considerable promise in the realm of women's golf.

To bolster her prospects in this sport, plans were made to relocate Gangotri to Chennai, a move aimed at propelling her golfing career further.

2018 Dhyan Chand Award

After numerous attempts and missed opportunities to win the Dhyan Chand Award, Bobby was finally granted this honour in 2018. This prestigious award was presented to her by the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on the 25th of September.

In a candid interview, Bobby expressed, "I count myself lucky to have won it this time. My pursuit for this honour has been ongoing since the Dhyan Chand Award was first introduced in 2002. This honour will serve as a catalyst for me to take coaching more seriously. Following the departure of my trainee Nayana James, who was under my guidance for only a year, I had ceased coaching. However, I am now contemplating a serious return to coaching."

References