In the Asian Athletics Championships Final, Gomathi wore the torn shoes because they were her lucky shoes.

A post is being shared by many people on Facebook with a claim that Athlete Gomathi ran her final race in Asian Games with torn shoes and the government is not helping her. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.

Claim: Gomathi from TN won gold for India in Asian games wearing two different torn shoes because she can’t buy one and the government is not helping her.

Fact: She won the gold medal in the Asian Athletics Championships, not in the Asian Games. She has herself clarified that she wore the torn shoes in the finals because they were her lucky shoes, not because she can’t buy new ones. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.

When searched for the news on Google, it is found that Gomathi Marimuthu won the gold medal for India in 800 metres in the Asian Athletics Championship 2019, held at Doha. So, it was not at the Asian Games, as claimed in the post. Also, in an interview published in the SPORTSTAR article, she clarified about the recent controversy on her shoes. She said, “I have heard this so many times (the shoe issue). It is not like that. The pair I wore during the race were lucky ones. I am very sentimental about that pair so I used it for the final.” So, it was not that she could not buy a new pair; she wore the torn shoes out of sentiment.

Also, in an interview given to ‘THE HINDU’, her mentor Francis Mary also commented on the issue saying, “Since the pair was two years old, she had stitched and used them. There are sentiments attached to it. We have ordered a new pair. It is yet to reach her.”

To sum it up, in the Asian Athletics Championships Final, Gomathi wore the torn shoes because they were her lucky shoes.