Indian race walkers ready to face bigger challenges ahead, says national coach Gurmeet Singh

National race-walking coach Gurmeet Singh has said that his athletes are gearing up to face bigger challenges ahead. Singh is training a small group of elite athletes at the national camp, including Olympian Sandeep Kumar and Priyanka Goswami, at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) Training Center in Bengaluru.

According to Singh, the goal is to prepare athletes for a good show at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in August and the Hangzhou Asian Games in September.

“Earning a podium finish at the Commonwealth or Asian Games will be a challenging task," Singh observes. "But we are getting ready. Both Kumar and Priyanka gave good accounts of themselves at Saturday’s fitness trial in Bengaluru. We have a couple of months more to work on our fitness for the Commonwealth and Asian Games.”

Australia’s Commonwealth Games champion Jemima Montag will be one of the rivals Indian athletes will face during the Birmingham Games. Last Sunday, the 23-year-old smashed the long-standing continental record of 1:27:44 by clocking 1:27:27 to win gold at the Oceania and Australian 20km women's race walking championships in Adelaide. It was Jemima’s first 20km race since her sixth-place finish at the Tokyo Olympics last year.

India’s Priyanka’s personal best and national record is 1:28:45 set last year in February in Ranchi. The Indian athlete finished 17th at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

“I know Jemima is a good athlete," Priyanka said over the phone from Bengaluru. "I’m prepared to battle with top athletes at the Commonwealth Games."

Next month’s World Athletics Race Walk Team Challenge in Muscat will be a good platform to evaluate Indian athletes' performances, feels Singh.

“Priyanka will be competing in women’s 35km event at next month’s international event in Oman," Singh explained. "Thereafter, she will switch back to the 20km race to prepare for Commonwealth Games."

Balancing act

If the national coach is to be believed, getting back to peak fitness takes an enormous amount of mental and physical effort.

“There are young and seasoned athletes in the group at the national camp," the coach explained. "Training has to be adjusted as per the needs of each individual in the camp."

Kumar, a two-time Olympian, is still going strong. The 35-year-old holds a national record in both men’s 20km and 50km. Kumar exuded confidence to improve his personal best of 1:20:16 in 20km.

“I can say that I’m enjoying better fitness than last year," Kumar, who finished 23rd in men’s 20km race walk at the Tokyo Olympics, said. "The international race in the first week of March in Muscat will be a good platform to test my capabilities."