Rupal Chaudhary will begin afresh when she lines up at the 15th leg of the National Championships in her hometown, Meerut, on Wednesday. The 400m runner, who shone at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships with three medals, including silver in the 400m, has been out of competition since 2025 due to knee injury.
The 22-year-old has been training at the NCOE in Thiruvananthapuram. Her performance on the newly-laid tracks at the Kailash Prakash Stadium could determine whether she gets an opportunity to compete at the Indian Series Final.
The Meerut meet is expected to serve as the first real test on her comeback trail. Rupal and her support team are treating it as the start of a larger rebuild. The immediate goal is to assess her fitness, regain confidence in competition and understand how her body responds under race pressure. From there, the focus will shift to improving her timings, sharpening her technique and building consistency in upcoming domestic events.
“It’s a matter of great pride for all of us that our own athlete Rupal will be competing in a national championship for the first time on her home turf,” Meerut District Athletics Association secretary Anu Kumar said on Monday.
Rupal first caught national attention with her performances at the U20 World Athletics Championships in 2022, where she won two medals, including a silver in the mixed 4x400m relay and a bronze in the women’s 400m. Her time of 51.85 seconds in the event still stands as her personal best. She became the first Indian athlete to win two medals in the same edition of the event.
{{/usCountry}}Rupal first caught national attention with her performances at the U20 World Athletics Championships in 2022, where she won two medals, including a silver in the mixed 4x400m relay and a bronze in the women’s 400m. Her time of 51.85 seconds in the event still stands as her personal best. She became the first Indian athlete to win two medals in the same edition of the event.
{{/usCountry}}Expectations only grew from there. At the Asian Athletics Championships, she put up a brilliant performance, winning silver in the 400m in 52.68 seconds, besides helping the women’s and mixed relay teams win gold medals. However, a difficult phase followed as injury forced her out of action and slowed her momentum. The road back was never going to be easy.
During her time away from the track, Rupal focused on recovery with patience and discipline. The injury break required not only physical rehabilitation but also mental strength, as long layoffs can be as challenging emotionally as they are physically.
She worked through physiotherapy, gradual training loads and conditioning drills aimed at restoring her sprint power without risking another setback. Rupal will want to regain her top form gradually, with the long-term aim of getting back into national contention and represent India at major international meets.