Wedding bells for Guangzhou Asian Games silver medallist runner Kavita Raut

Getting married is an important part of any person’s life let alone a sportsperson. And for Indian long distance runner Kavita Raut, the occasion is going to be no less different. The Indian athlete, who grabbed the newspaper headlines when she lapped up two medals at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China (silver in the 10,000m event and a bronze in the 5,000m event), is all set to tie the knot.

Kavita, who hails from the tribal hamlet of Savarpada in Nashik, recently got engaged to Mahesh Tungar in a low-key function at Hardsul. The function was attended by Kavita’s coach Vijender Singh as well as her friends and family members.

Kavita’s would-be bridegroom works as an engineer in the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) and is posted at Hardsul. The duo will tie the knot on April 29th.

The 27-year-old long-distance runner is not allowing marriage plans to affect her focus on what she loves doing the most.

Kavita is currently training hard at the Bhonsala Military School ground in Nashik in preparation for the forthcoming Senior National Athletics Championship beginning at New Delhi from April 23 to 26.

The seasoned runner is expected to continue running even after marriage. She is keen to represent the country at the 2014 Asian Games as well as the 2016 Olympics.

She has a host of laurels to boast of. Kavita holds the current Indian national record for the 10 km road running event, achieving a mark of 34:32.

She attained a podium finish at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi – picking up a bronze medal in the 10,000 metres race with a timing of 33:05.28 – in the process became the first Indian woman athlete to win an individual track and field medal at the Commonwealth Games. In fact, Kavita’s medal was the first individual track medal by an Indian athlete at the Commonwealth Games in more than 50 years, after Milkha Singh‘s 440 yards gold at the 1958 Cardiff Commonwealth Games.

Employed with public sector giant Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Kavita’s personal best for the 5,000 metres event is 16:05.90, which she achieved while winning a bronze during the 18th Asian Athletics Championships held at Guangzhou, China in November 2009.

In May 2010, Kavita set a meet record in the 10,000 metres event at the 50th National Open Athletic Championship held at Kochi.

Kavita endured a big disappointment when she failed to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics but those blues subsided when she was bestowed with the coveted Arjuna Award last year.

The talented runner had battled the odds in her bid to become an athlete. Fetching water from the well on the hilly terrain to running barefoot are things she did during her days as a young girl.

Kavita received a cash award of Rs 7.5 lakh from the Maharastra government for her bronze medal effort at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.