She sowed the seeds of her success in Udupi and reaped golden rewards in Delhi and Guangzhou. The tall, long-striding girl, in her blue India colours, flashed onto the scene virtually from out of the blue to win gold in the 400m hurdles after playing her part in the 4x400m relay quartet’s golden show. In fact, in the track and field events at the Asian Games, it was only the 4x400m relay team of Manjeet Kaur, Sini Jose, Ashwini and Mandeep Kaur that repeated its Commonwealth Games feat of winning gold.
Siddapura-born, 23-year old Ashwini Akkunji Chidananda Shetty has emerged as the golden girl of the Asian Games as far as Indian athletics is concerned. If Krishna Poonia hogged the limelight at the CWG by becoming the second Indian after Milkha Singh to win an individual athletics gold medal, it was Ashwini’s time in Guangzhou.
Ashwini has always been a good quarter-miler, with 57.57 secs in the Chennai national open meet in June 2006 as her best. Naturally, she was drafted into the relay squad.
The third leg of the relay can be crucial, making the difference between victory and defeat. The runner has either to bridge a gap or create one for the anchor to romp home. Ashwini had to perform the former act in Delhi and Guangzhou. She produced a blazing run on both occasions to make up the distance the first two runners had conceded. By the time she handed the baton over to Mandeep Kaur in a smooth exchange, gold was within India’s grasp.
Ashwini had another surprise in store. She won gold in the 400m hurdles. No since MD Valsamma in the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi and PT Usha in the 1986 Asiad in Seoul has an Indian women won the event. With the Japanese runner coming along side her at the ninth hurdle, all eyes were on Ashwini. Accelerating superbly on the final stretch, she clinched top spot with a personal best of 56.15 secs, clipping 0.28 secs off the 56.43 secs she had clocked in the heats.
“She trains for 4-5 hours every day and is totally dedicated to athletics. She has always been fond of the hurdles race but only ran the 400m flat because she did not have a coach. About six months back, she decided to try the hurdles — the results are there for all to see. My family and I are happy that Ashwini has won medals for the country and made us proud. People in Siddapura are happy for her. Ashwini was confident of bagging a medal. She called up to say she would win and she has kept her word,” says Ashwini’s father Chidananda Shetty.
“India has been struggling to find a good woman hurdler ever since PT Usha retired. Ashwini has the attributes to succeed — she is strong in the 400m and, importantly, is tall and has long strides. We asked her to give the hurdles a try and she has come back with gold,” says national coach Bahadur Singh. “I am both happy and surprised by her performance.” Before going to Guangzhou, Ashwini was not sure of winning a medal, let alone gold. “But but once I performed in the heats, I felt I had a good chance of winning gold. I started running the 400m hurdles in Udupi about six months ago and really focused on the event just a month back,” says Ashwini.
“Bahadur Singh, Yuri Ogorodinik and R Nagapuri spotted my talent and have guided me. If I have achieved anything, credit should go to them,” adds Ashwini.
“My father is a farmer and I come from a village with forests surrounding it. I used to chase cows and run a lot at school. I was quite good but never thought of running as a career.”
“A friend of my father suggested that I join the DYSS (Department of Youth Services and Sports) programme in Bangalore. Coach Manjunath BG spotted me and enrolled me in the sports school. From then on, I have run seriously. I had a brief stint at the Tata Academy as well. At a national meet, coach RS Sidhu picked me for the national camp. He perhaps realised I had talent. I was feeling a bit low at that time and thought my career would not take off. But he worked hard on me,” says Ashwini.
“I did pretty well and got a job as a ticket examiner with the Indian Railways about two years ago. This has helped my family immensely. After I got into the national camp, I worked really hard. I am happy that I have managed to do something to make my family, my people in Udupi, my state and the country proud,” says Ashwini. What next? “I will work harder.”
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