CHENNAI : Sandeep Kumar has been pursuing racewalking for more than a decade-and-a-half but for the 35-year-old athlete from Haryana the challenge to remain at the top is still burning inside. Soon after completing a hat-trick of national 20km titles on the opening day of the 9th Indian Open Race Walking Competition in Ranchi on Saturday, Sandeep has set his eyes on World Athletics Championships slated from July 15 to 24 in Oregon, USA. And if that is not enough, Sandeep, a two-time Olympian, is eyeing the 2024 Paris Olympics as well. The way he is performing, this seems a legitimate expectation.
“The priority is to keep myself fit. Being in the Indian Army helps a lot. Despite such a long career, I still cannot sleep sometimes worrying about my training. Big events are lined up this year including the World Championships, Commonwealth Games (10km) and Asian Games. Besides, Paris Games is also there in 2024,” Sandeep told this daily.
He clocked 1:22:05.00, a faster time than when he finished 13th in the World Championships in Muscat last month. This time the Athletics Federation of India has set a tough qualifying standard for Asian Games and going by it, he was still 5 seconds outside. “There is still time to improve and I hope to give my best in the USA,” he added.
Meanwhile, Ravina, whose 14th place finish in Muscat helped the Indian team win a bronze medal, was faster than at the World Championships as she clocked 1:31:52.00 to register her personal best and finish on the top of the podium. “The qualification mark for the USA’s event is 1:31 so I would not be taking part in that but this gold will serve as a big morale booster,” said the 24-year-old Ravina from Haryana. She, however, was expecting a lot more from the event. “Given the preparations we had, I was expecting better timing but we had participated in the World Championships last month only so we are still recovering from it. Apart from it, the weather was also tough here in Ranchi.”
It was the first gold for Ravina in the event. She had earlier bagged bronze in the competition. Like other athletes, she is also eyeing medals in the 2022 CWG and Asiad. However, it turned out to be a disappointing day for Priyanka Goswami as she quit the race due to exhaustion.
Camp shifted
It is also learnt that the racewalking national camp, which was being held in Bengaluru since October last year, will now be organised at NIS in Patiala. Results: Men’s 20km: 1. Sandeep Kumar (Haryana) 1:22:05.00; 2. Akshdeep Singh (Punjab) 1:23:14.00; 3. Paramjeet Singh Bisht (Maharashtra) 1:23:27.00; Women’s 20km: 1. Ravina (Haryana) 1:31:52.00; 2. Bhawna Jat (Rajasthan) 1:32:31.00; 3. Sonal Sukhwal (Rajasthan) 1:32:40.00.