When racing walker Priyanka Goswami missed the 20km Olympic cut by a narrow margin at nationals last year in February, she was momentarily dejected. The 24-year-old walker knew it was only a matter of time before she reserved a venue for the mega event, but little did she know at the time that a pandemic would halt all sporting action for nearly a year.
His wait ended on Saturday, at the national races in Ranchi, where he won gold, setting a national record time of 1:28:45 and in the process won a place for the Tokyo Games scheduled for July this year. Priyanka erased Bahavna Jat’s 1:29:54 mark set last year at the same event where the 2020 champion missed the Games cutoff.
In the men’s 20km event, experienced walker Sandeep Kumar also won an Olympic sport and a national record by scoring 1:20:16 when runner-up Rahul Kumar also finished within the Games mark.
For Priyanka, 24, earning an Olympic spot feels like a huge burden on her shoulder. She, along with Sandeep, have been training with national coach Gurmeet Singh in Bengaluru since 2019. After the lockdown restrictions were lifted, the first thing she had to work on was reducing her weight. Priyanka weighed 49 kilograms when she returned to camp, but Coach Gurmeet came up with a proper diet and training plan to bring her down to 44.
“I have been working hard and this was our first event since last year and I wanted to do my best. I’m over the moon When I got into track and field I didn’t even know what the Olympics were, but today I have earned a place, ”says Priyanka in her typical jovial tone. Priyanka is very popular with campers and has a huge following – 11,100 followers to be precise – on Instagram.
Sandeep Kumar also won an Olympic sport
Modeling aspirations
Priyanka believes that all athletes, due to their strenuous training programs, need to have a life beyond sports. The Uttar Pradesh girl’s second love is fashion and clothing and her mother is her mentor.
“I wanted to dedicate myself to fashion design, but then things didn’t work out. Now my mom tells me the latest fashion trends. He watches a lot of television and that’s where he learns from, ”says Priyanka.
His photo shoots have taken a backseat for now due to the crash, but he promises to post more regularly now. “Aab dukan fir se khulegi. (I’ll become more active now) ”, she says while laughing.
Priyanka is sincere in admitting that she is enjoying the media attention after her record run on Saturday. He’s certainly not among those trying to avoid the camera. “I always ask my friends to take good photos of me while I compete. I love Nike sportswear and who knows if one day I will be signed up, ”he says.
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She is a freelance blogger, writer, and speaker, and writes for various entertainment magazines.