Akshdeep Singh bettered the national men’s 20km race walk record on Tuesday, winning the title in the National Open Race Walking Championships in Ranchi. Tokyo Olympian Priyanka Goswami won the women’s race with both qualifying for the August World Championships in Budapest and the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Punjab’s Akshdeep though almost didn’t compete. Five days earlier, he was grief-stricken after the sudden death of his grandfather. The youngster just wanted to catch the first train home.
“I was very close to him, his death left me shattered. I just wanted to go home but my parents persuaded me to stay back and finish the job. It was heartbreaking to watch his last rites being performed over a video call,” Akshdeep said.
The 23-year-old then set out to “finish the job”, which he did in some style. Akshdeep became the first Indian to dip under 1 hour, 20 minutes, bettering Sandeep Kumar's national mark (1:20:16), also set at Ranchi two years ago. His 1:19:55 met the qualifying marks for the two global meets, becoming the first athlete to make the grade for Paris. The diminutive Priyanka clocked 1:28:50, five seconds adrift of her national record set in the same city in 2021.
“I am very happy with the result, though not surprised. I expected to go under 1:20,” Akshdeep said. “The circuit was fast and the weather was really pleasant. At no point did we feel dehydrated.”
{{/usCountry}}“I am very happy with the result, though not surprised. I expected to go under 1:20,” Akshdeep said. “The circuit was fast and the weather was really pleasant. At no point did we feel dehydrated.”
{{/usCountry}}Uttarakhand’s Suraj Panwar (1:20:11) also dipped under the old national mark in coming second, just missing the Olympics and Worlds qualifying mark of 1:20.10s. The women’s qualifying mark is 1:29:20.
“I feel bad for Suraj, he is a dear friend and we train together. I am sure he’ll make up for it soon,” Akshdeep said.
Though a season opener, the nationals was a big draw among the elite race walkers. Defending champion Sandeep Kumar finished seventh (1:23:28) and Olympian KT Irfan 16th (1:25:55). Tokyo Olympian Bhawana Jat was second in the women’s event (1:29:44).
“The competition was the best I could have had in the country; it goes a long way in deciding our overseas training and exposure,” said Akshdeep, who expects to compete in Japan in March.
He hails from Kahneke village in Punjab’s Barnala district. Akshdeep's father, a kabaddi player in his youth, is a farmer and doubles up as the village milkman to make ends meet. Spurred by the desire to join the army, Akshdeep began running in 2015.
“I was slight in build and everyone wanted me to get into some sport, but I was driven to join the army,” he said. As he started beating older and stronger boys regularly, fellow aspirants encouraged him to take up distance running seriously.
The next year, he went to Punjabi University, Patiala for an open trial where seasoned race walk coach Gurdev Singh spotted him and persuaded him to take up walking. The former national champion (twice in 20km, once in 50km) became his mentor and told Akshdeep he had the potential to clock 1:17-1:18. For context, the Asian and world record stands at 1:16:36 and the Olympic record is 1:18:46., and a time of 1:21:05 was enough for Italy's Massimo Stanothe to win the Tokyo gold in 2021.
Akshdeep’s came within touching distance of the world-leading time this year — Sweden’s Perseus Karlstrom clocked 1:19:27 in Melbourne on Sunday. The man who shaved off 3:59 minutes from his personal best within 10 months is confident of making waves this season.
“I am not thinking too far ahead, but improving my personal best from 1:23:14 in April 2022 to 1:19:55 gives me a lot of confidence,” said the junior sailor with Indian Navy.
“I began dreaming about the Olympics in 2018 but the coach always told me there’s no point in just making the numbers at the Games. So, my next goal is to reach a stage where I am in contention for medals at big events.”