KOCHI: Majority of parents are deeply concerned when their wards spend more time on playgrounds than in front of books, but the inspiring journey of Shahansha Shajahan should give them hope. A former national medal winning sprinter from Thrissur, who later earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering, has now cleared the civil services examination. The 26-year-old, who achieved 897th rank in civil services, says it was the hours he toiled on the tracks more than anything else that helped him clear the hurdle. “Most often we hear people saying that academics and sports are parallel paths, but I can assure you it is not,” said a delighted Shahansha, who cracked the exams on his third attempt.
“The time management and hardwork that I learned from sports is what helped me clear the civil services,” said the native of Thuvanur, a former trainee of Sports Authority of India centre in Thrissur. Shahansha’s journey to the civil services started in 2013 just as when he was having a successful career as an athlete in the state and inter-collegiate level. He had won a bronze in 200m at the senior national Federation Cup a year before and also has a couple of gold medals in 4X100m from the all India University and national junior meets.
Two years back Shahansha also cleared UPSC’s assistant commandant examination with all India 14th rank. Though he's expected to report as a commandant this October, Shahansha has chosen to wait until a service is allotted. He prefers either Customs or Railways. Shahansha says his parents K.K. Shajahan and Rabiya, who is a high-school teacher and sister Shahaban have always been supportive of his love for sports and studies, at the same.
