Congress leader Rahul Gandhi kept his promise to an 11-year-old aspiring athlete in the Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu by giving him a pair of athletic shoes. Rahul gave Antony Felix shoes worth 5,900 rupees.
“I received the shoes by courier on Tuesday. Mr. Rahul Gandhi called me Tuesday night and asked if I liked them and if they were the right size,” Felix told TOI.
Rahul Gandhi was campaigning in Kanyakumari – Thiruvananthapuram National Highway, Tamil Nadu when he met Felix. The Congress leader talked to the boy for quite a few minutes and learned that he doesn’t have any sports shoes to wear. Hearing this, Rahul promised him a good pair of athletic shoes.
“We did not know the size of his foot. So, Rahul’s personal assistant called me on the phone three days later and asked me to take my son to a sports store and measure his foot size. On Tuesday we received the messenger. This is great for my son,” said his father, M Antony Xavier, 42, who runs a wood business in Trichy and a small textile shop in the Kanyakumari district to Times of India.
“He has been interested in athletics from a very young age. You don’t have the proper guidance and training. But I encourage him by accompanying him in his morning practice. He wakes up promptly at 4 in the morning and practices for 90 minutes,” said the father.
In 2017, the boy completed a 5 km mini-marathon in 19 minutes. “Now I can cover the same distance in 15 minutes and 15 km in an hour. Rahul Gandhi promised to help me get proper athletic training,” said Felix, adding that he was confident of fulfilling his promise to Rahul to bring laurels to India.
