- He has become the first athlete from Lakshadweep to cross 7 metres in long jump.
- There are no synthetic athletic tracks in Lakshadweep, so Abdul practices his long jump in mud pits
Abdul Fatah is at sea most nights, working as a fisherman to help his family earn a living. As soon as morning arrives, he heads straight to the training ground, pursuing a different dream: to win Lakshadweep’s first medal at the Khelo India Tribal Games 2026.
The 18-year-old long jumper from the remote Amini Island, located between Kavaratti and Kadmat islands, measuring approximately 2.7 km long and 1.2 km wide, with a total land area of 2.60 sq km, won the gold medal with a career-best jump of 7.03 metres at the Sports Complex ground in Jagdalpur. It was a historic moment for this small Union Territory. “He is the first athlete from Lakshadweep to cross the 7-metre mark, and that is truly a special thing,” smiled Ahmed Javed Hasan, the Union Territory’s sports officer.
Born into a fishing family, Fatah is the eldest of his siblings and bears a significant amount of responsibility at home. After completing his 12th grade, he had to interrupt his studies due to financial constraints. Instead, he decided to help his father in the family business and pursue the sport as his passion. “There’s no other option; you have to balance things,” Fatah said. “I’ve been helping my father with fishing since I was in school. It’s our only source of income. We have a family of six. I go to my training in the morning; my family knows about it, even though they understand very little about the sport.”
Interestingly, athletics wasn’t his first love. Fatah initially played football, as did many other young people on the island. However, a few years ago, a local inter-island competition marked a turning point in his journey. Coach Mohammed Kasim recognized the young man’s strong running abilities and suggested he try athletics. From then on, Fatah began training in the long jump and 100-meter sprint. Around the same time, the Amini Athletics Association began forming, providing a framework for the development of sports in the region.
Fattah and several other young athletes were gradually provided coaching support, which helped them train more systematically. In just two years, the association developed approximately 384 athletes. From this group, 17 athletes were selected to represent Lakshadweep at the Games. Fattah’s gold-winning jump of 7.03 meters in Jagdalpur was particularly satisfying, considering the conditions there. During training, he had stated that his jumps usually hovered around 6.5 to 6.7 meters. He said, “Before coming to the Khelo India Tribal Games, I had set myself a target of reaching 7.15 meters. I am happy that I was able to cross the seven-meter mark, and this gold medal will motivate me to do even better.”
Lakshadweep is gradually establishing itself on India’s athletics map. One of the Union Territory’s most well-known athletes is Mubassina Mohammed, a 19-year-old long jumper and heptathlete. She became Lakshadweep’s first international medalist by winning the silver medal in the long jump at the 2022 Asian U18 Athletics Championships in Kuwait. She also won the Junior National title in the women’s long jump with a personal best of 6.30 meters.
Like Mubassina, Fatah trains without access to modern infrastructure. Lakshadweep, which covers just 32 square kilometers and has a population of less than 70,000, still lacks a proper synthetic track or athletics stadium. As a result, many athletes practice on dirt tracks, while Fatah often uses a nearby football field to train for his sprint events. He adds, “Given our success at the Khelo India Tribal Games and other national-level competitions, we hope things will change for us. Maybe we’ll get some jobs and training facilities.”