Silver Is Worth A Million Dollar Smile. Viral Video Of Athlete Krishna Jayasankar Wins Hearts

Krishna Jayasankar recently delivered a remarkable performance at the Conference USA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Alabama, throwing a personal best of 15 metres in the shotput competition. The 19-year-old represented the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and clinched a silver.

A video of an elated Jayasankar receiving her silver honour is doing rounds on the internet, much to the delight of netizens. In it, the teen athlete is seen marking her win with a mini solo celebration on the victory stand. After being awarded her medal, she flashes the victory sign, all smiles.

The endearing moment has brightened up Twitter, with many sharing the video.

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Icelander Erna Gunnarsdottir took the gold with 16.79 metres, while Lacee Barnes from Cayman Islands finished third with 14.86 metres.

Reports suggest Jayasankar with her win this week becomes only the second Indian shot putter to breach the 15 metre mark and clinching silver in the indoor championship. The first was Manpreet Kaur, Olympic shot putter from Ambala who threw 15.21 metre in 2016 at championships in Doha.

Jayasankar hails from Tamil Nadu and is presently on scholarship at UTEP. She is also a discus thrower and was training last year in Jamaica. She is the daughter of India's 'first basketball couple' Prasanna Jayasankar and Jayasankar Menon, both of whom have played vital roles in drawing more participation into basketball in Chennai.

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Jayasankar too dreamed of a sporting career from a young age. "An 11-year-old in 6th Grade had dreamt of this student-athlete life in a US college. I want to make the most of it," she told Indian Express. "Shotput in US Collegiate is like Diamond League level. Very competitive. You have to throw 18m to be amongst the top."

The young athlete has previously spoken about being shamed for her body, her broad physique in particular. When her parents were told her body was "huge," it affected her mental health. Turning what people perceived as a 'weakness' into her strength, Jayasankar took it upon herself to excel in sports.