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KIUG 1500m: Yoonus Shah does Pilibhit, U.P. proud by setting meet record
Yoonus created a new meet record of 3:51.61 minutes at the Guru Gobind Singh Sports College track in Lucknow.
Uttar Pradesh’s Yoonus Shah won the 1500m run by creating a new Games record at the Khelo India University Games here on Wednesday. Now, Pilibhit’s Yoonus targets the national record of 3:35.24 minutes that was set by Jinson Johnson in 2009, and hopes to win medals for India in the Olympics.
Yoonus created a new meet record of 3:51.61 minutes at the Guru Gobind Singh Sports College track in Lucknow. He improved upon the previous meet record of 3:52.54 minutes representing Mahatma Jyotiba Phule University, Bareilly.
“I can do even better. I achieved a timing of 3:45 minutes earlier. I am putting in a lot of effort to break the national record. Currently, my full focus is on the World University Games, with trials scheduled to take place in Bhubaneswar next month,” he said after winning.
Yoonus, who hails from the village Patihan in the Pilibhit district, dreams to represent India and win a medal in the Olympics. “My dream is to win a medal for our nation. I compete in the 1500m and 800m races, but the 1500m race is my favourite. My father is a farmer. Besides my parents, I have a brother and a sister. Currently, I am training under coach Vipin Lohit at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi.”
“I went to play for Sevaram Nathu Ram Inter College in Jograjpur, Pilibhit, in 2018. Coach Dinesh Pandey asked me to participate in the event. I performed well there, and then Sir advised me to compete in the district-level events in Pilibhit. I won gold medals in the 800m, 1500m, and 5000m races. After that, I started training and represented U.P. as well,” he added.
Yoonus, who is participating in the Khelo India University Games for the first time, said: “I have previously competed in the All India University Games. My race finish timing there was 3:45. I also ran for the Uttar Pradesh state team. In the Uttar Pradesh state meet that took place in Meerut, I won the silver medal in the 1500m event and a bronze medal in the 800m event.”
Lavishing praise on how the KIUG was organised, Yoonus said: “It is an excellent platform. My first experience of participating here has been great. It provides good exposure to young athletes. I too received good exposure. The facilities here were of international standards. The track was excellent, and that helped me perform better.”
