One of the first objectives triathlete Sanjana Joshi scribbled in her mind for the women’s individual (sprint) final at the 2022 Commonwealth Games (CWG) on Friday was to merely complete the race. The bar is set quite low, you’d think. However, when one-third of the race is being competed on borrowed equipment, there’s little room to manoeuvre.
Sanjana Joshi of India
The 17-year-old from Nagpur completed the 20km cycle stretch through the Sutton Park in 33:21, a fair distance away from the leader Flora Duffy's 28.17. Sanjana’s cycle, however, wasn’t even her own. She took her coach’s cycle along to Birmingham for by far the biggest event of her career. The Indian did what she had set out for, completing the race in 01:09.00 and finishing 28th overall among the 32 finalists.
The CWG sprint distance triathlon features a 750m swim, 20km cycle and 5km run. The road bike that Sanjana used for the cycling bit of the race belonged to her personal coach, Amit Samarth, an endurance athlete who trains her in Nagpur. It’s been a few years that the trainee has used the coach's equipment for some of the key events. The daughter of a small-time fabrication businessman though hoped her CWG selection, after finishing in the top two in the trials in Chennai behind Pragnya Mohan (she finished 26th at 01:07.27 on Friday) earlier this year, would likely open the window for her to be able to secure her own equipment for her first outing at a multi-nation event.
Turned out to be wishful thinking.
“I had approached the local authorities in Nagpur and even the state government to help me in buying my own cycle at least. But I didn't hear back from them,” Sanjana said. “I thought after my CWG selection I wouldn’t have to worry too much about using other people’s equipment, but here I am doing the same representing India at the Commonwealth Games.”
Until six months ago, Sanjana didn't even have a proper road bike for her rigorous training sessions, making do with a hybrid bike instead. A good-quality road bike costs between ₹4-5 lakh, according to Sanjana. Not the kind of money her family can afford or the fund-strapped Indian Triathlon Federation can dole out. Fortunately for her, Samarth's old bike, with which he competed in the Race Across American among other events, could be spared.
“I have to keep adjusting the seat, because it’s not set according to my height and body dimensions. I’m lucky that I have my coach’s bike at least, but it’s probably time I have my own bike at least,” Sanjana said.
“I think she deserved lot more support from SAI or the Maharashtra government or the Nagpur city administration,” Samarth said. “She needed a very good racing bike to be able to be competitive, but nobody came forward at the right time. My bike is fine but a little bigger for her height.”
Financial challenges have followed the career trail of the young triathlete, who was earlier a swimmer. Sanjana has, in the past, banked upon crowdfunding initiatives for her foreign competition trips. Before flying for the 2022 Asia Triathlon Sprint Championships in Sejong in the lead-up to the CWG, various members of the Miles N Milers Endurance Sports Academy—where she trains in Nagpur—pooled in ₹1.5 lakh to aid her. Months earlier, some other members chipped in with ₹35,000 to ensure she travels for the Asia Triathlon Cup in Pokhara, where she finished eighth.
A romantic of the ferocious Rafael Nadal forehand, Rutvick Mehta loves his tennis but has been covering various other sport since 2012. He writes for HT.
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