CHENNAI: She may have bettered her own national record twice this year and became the first Indian to enter the steeplechase finals of the World Athletics Championships. Yet Lalita Babar, the affable long-distance runner, is not done yet. After reaching the finals, the 26-year-old feels her mission is only half-way through and she wants to clock a better time in the final that will be held on Wednesday.
“I’m happy that I bettered my time. My coach has set a target of 9:22. If I can clock that, it’ll be remarkable,” she told Express. What gives her the confidence is that the final will be held in the evening, a time she prefers.
“The heats was in the morning and the final in the evening. I’m used to doing steeplechase in evenings. If I could clock 9:27.86 in the morning heats, I can further bring down the timing in the evening,” she said.
The Asian Championship gold medallist sliced off almost six seconds from her previous best of 9:34.13 that she had set during the Incheon Asian Games. She finished fourth and proceeded to the finals as the fastest loser. The Maharashtra athlete feels the experience of racing with leading runners in Beijing will help her Olympic preparation.
“This event has given me a chance to run alongside the best in the world. The same girls will be racing in Rio, which is high on my priority list. I’m taking this as a chance to iron out my faults as well as getting used to the techniques of rivals,” she added.
In the heats, Lalita ran alongside favourite Tunisia’s Habibi Ghribi, Germany’s former European junior champion Gesa Felicitas Krause and Kenya’s Rosefline Chepngetic.
Training under Belarusian coach Nikolai Snesarev in Ooty, Lalita has an entry in marathon as well. But, she is yet to take a call on whether to run in it or not. “Doing three races in a week can take a toll on my body. I am not yet decided on it.”