Regret missing out on achieving qualifying mark for Tokyo Olympics 2020, says Harmilan Bains 

Indian middle-distance runner Harmilan Bains has been one of the most impressive athletes of the 2021 season. She has shown a lot of improvement in both the 800m and 1500m events for women and is certainly a star in the making.

Bains gave her best to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics 2020 but fell short of the automatic qualification mark.

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Harmilan Bains told us about her journey, impressive 2021 season, and future aspirations.

The journey that was not meant to be

Harmilan Bains was not initially interested in athletics. However, her mother Madhuri Singh, who won a silver medal at the 2002 Asian Games in the 800-meter event for women, wanted Harmilan to live her dream. Harmilan said:

"I was very good in studies. I was around 9 years old when my parents registered me in a local running competition. I finished 2nd in that particular race. After that, I decided to just focus on my studies as I used to top my class back then."

However, her parents persuaded her to give athletics one more shot. Harmilan added:

"The 2nd time I decided to run a race, I was clear that it is now or never. Back then, I didn't like to come 2nd. I prepared for the zonal level race that I was going to participate next. I won that particular race. However, that year I came 2nd in my class (chuckles). That's how my athletics journey started."

Harmilan Bains has been mighty impressive in 2021

Harmilan Bains has been actively participating in the national championships since 2016. She started her junior career with a bronze medal-winning performance at the Asian Junior Championships in 2016.

Her performances from 2017 to 2019 were rather subdued as her personal best in 1500 meters remained over 4:20 minutes. However, in 2020, Harmilan Bains made a massive jump in her personal best in both the 800 and 1500 meters at the Khelo India University Games by clocking a time of 2:06.40 minutes and 4:14.68 minutes respectively.

Harmilan Bains was very much satisfied with her performances in 2021. She said:

"I would regard my gold medal-winning performance at the Federation Cup in 1500 meters as the best performance of my career till date. Also, my personal best time of 2:02 odd minutes at the Interstates in 800 meters is very close to my heart too."

She added:

"I was clocking around 4:20 in 2019 and was left out of the camp. That was a little heart-breaking for me. But after that I put in all the hard yards to achieve 4:08 timings in 2021."

However, Harmilan was not totally satisfied with the timings. She added:

" I was very confident of achieving the Tokyo Olympics 2020 qualification mark at the Indian Gran Prix-4. I was in very good shape in the lead up to the IGP-4 and Interstates."

Harmilan Bains further added:

"I had run a very relaxed time of 4:08.70 at the Federation Cup 2021. However, at the IGP-4 and Interstates, the weather was not conducive for middle distance running. It was very hot and humid. I had requested for a pacemaker as well and there was no crowd support as well due to Covid restrictions. I rue the fact that I was not able to qualify for the Olympics because of these parameters."

A very bright future awaits Harmilan Bains in 2022

Although Harmilan Bains didn't qualify for the Tokyo Olympics 2020, she sounded very positive about her future. She wants to give her best at the 2022 Asian Games and Universiade as well. Harmilan said:

"I really want to shift my focus for the 2022 season. My body is still recovering from the exhaustion caused by the hot and sultry conditions of Patiala. I am still to decide whether I should participate at the Open Nationals or not because of that."

Bains went on to talk about her next personal target. She said:

"I am a strength based runner and want to work on my endurance in the off season with my coach so that I can give my best performances at the 2022 Asian Games and Universiade. I am targeting a time of 4:01 and under for next season."

Harmilan Bains believes that she can be a much better athlete at the metric mile event than in the 800 meters. She wants to shift her focus more towards the former for the 2022 season to improve her chances of winning a medal at the continental games. Harmilan added:

"I think it was an error in judgement to run in both the 800 and 1500 meters event at the 2021 Interstates. My body was not fully recovered for the 1500 meters as I had run a gruelling race in the 800 meters event a couple of days before. I have taken these lessons in my stride and want to focus more on 1500 meters event in the future."

Harmilan Bains was all praises for Punjabi University, Patiala and coach Suresh Saini

Harmilan Bains met her current coach Suresh Saini in 2018. Her performance has significantly improved since this collaboration. She added;

"My tuning with Suresh sir is perfect. He gave much importance to the bio-mechanical aspect of my running. He helped me with hill-training and asked me to hit the gym to improve my endurance."

She has reaffirmed her beliefs in her training style. Bains said:

"Initially, I was a little apprehensive of these methods but when I ran a personal best time of 4:14 at the Khelo India University games in early 2020, I was literally surprised as my training was paying me rich dividends. It gave me that belief of doing well at the highest level."

Harmilan Bains also appreciated the efforts of Punjabi University in Patiala to provide the best facilities for their athletes. She added:

"The state association is really backing the athletes of Punjab. That is the reason we are giving our best results. Even during the lockdown, the Punjabi University in Patiala provided us with the track to practice. Athletes from far fetched areas of Punjab came to the university to practice."

"The university has been very supportive to athletes in these testing times. Even during the Interstates, majority of the athletes were practicing in the University stadium."

The story of Harmilan Bains "The queen"

Harmilan Bains is a very popular figure on Instagram with more than 60k followers. Her Instagram profile is called 'The Queen'. When asked about the story behind this title, she said:

"Actually my father gave me this title. He has been a constant support in my life. He has provided me with all the facilities that an athlete requires. I am living the dream of my parents. They want me to represent India at the highest level."

One could say Harmilan Bains is the upcoming superstar of Indian athletics. She has the potential to become one of the world's best with the way her graph has been improving.