Eighty-nine-year-old Mariyamma Varghese is neither a sports enthusiast nor does she know much about the Commonwealth Games. But India's historic gold-medal winner in triple jump in Birmingham on Sunday, Eldhose Paul, is indebted for all his achievements to this old lady sitting thousands of miles away in Palackamattom in Ernakulam district of Kerala.
Eldhose lost his mother when he was just four and ever since Mariyamma has been the fulcrum around which the life of Eldhose and his little brother Abin Paul, who is unwell, has revolved. Eldhose's dad, Paulose, used to work as a supplier in a toddy shop but the family received little support from him.
