CHENNAI: Athlete Sunil Dawar is on a medal-winning spree. After shattering a meet record (1500m) and pocketing two gold (1500m and 5000m) at the 18th National Federation Cup Juniors (U20) Athletics Championships in Bhopal last month, the 19-year-old Madhya Pradesh athlete did a double, finishing first in the same events at the National Junior Athletics Championships in Guwahati on Monday. By doing so, Dawar also shattered a 24-year-old national record in U-20 men's 5000m.
But becoming a track and field athlete was a far-fetched thought when Sunil started running in 2017. The only thing in his mind at that time was to clear the army recruitment test so that he could carry forward the legacy of Tanda Barud, a nondescript village in Khargone district of MP.
"Our village is known for sending youths to the Indian army. Around 80 people from our village are in the army. I too had the same dream of serving the country by joining the army which is why I started running so that I can clear the physical tests during the recruitment drive," Sunil told The New Indian Express from Guwahati.
A medal at the 2017 National School Games, however, changed his life. "I saw him in the school nationals and asked him to appear for a trial being organised to select trainees for MP State Athletics Academy. As expected, he cleared the trials, and results since then are there for everyone to see," informed SK Prasad, the academy's athletics coach.
Since joining the academy in 2018, Dawar has not looked back, winning medals at national and international meets, including a silver in the 5000m at the 13th South Asian Games in Kathmandu in 2019.
Sunil, who belongs to the Barela tribe (listed as a scheduled tribe in MP), used to help his father Bilar Singh Dawar in the fields. Initially, he played cricket. He even represented his school in state-level competitions but decided to switch to athletics to fulfill his dream of joining the Indian army.
"After joining the state academy, I realised my potential. Earlier, the aim was to join the army by clearing the physical tests. I still can fulfil my dream but not at the cost of my sporting career," said Sunil.
Sunil has won nine gold, two silver and a bronze since 2018. He underwent a bone test soon after his double medal haul in Bhopal. He came clean but was asked to take the age test again after winning two medals in Guwahati. The report of the recent test is still awaited but it cannot stop Sunil from dreaming big — joining the Indian Army and preparing for the 2022 Asian Games.