Rupal makes clean transition from grass to artificial monitor

Quarter-miler HM Priya was undoubtedly the favorite to take dwelling gold on the U 20 Federation Cup in Nadiad, Gujarat on Friday till a sure 17-year-old outshone her by simply .01seconds. Meerut’s Rupal clocked a stable 52.48s underneath the scorching Gujarat solar. Rupal had already achieved the U 20 World Championships qualification mark of 55.20s within the heats itself the place she clocked 53.91s.

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Rupal was naturally overjoyed at Friday’s victory over the much-fancied Priya, who topped the India charts final 12 months. “She is such a fine runner. She is one of the best junior athletes in the world and beating her in a way proves that I am a fine athlete as well. My confidence has been boosted,” Rupal says with plenty of admiration for Priya.

Priya got here into the competitors having already clocked the jr Worlds qualification timing.

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Rupal first got here into the limelight in October final 12 months when she clocked (53.73s) the very best timings within the 400m National Open. Priya and Rupal have contrasting backgrounds. While Priya has simply returned from a coaching stint in Europe, Rupal has been shuttling between Meerut and Delhi to get entry to an artificial monitor.

“Main toh gaon ki ladki hun (I am a village girl),” Rupal says in an assertive tone when requested about her background. Rupal, who comes from a farmer household in Meerut, at all times had a liking for operating.

Rupal isn’t going to again down and feels her greatest is but to return.

After outshining her fellow athletes on the faculty degree, the following step for Rupal was to coach at an expert stadium. Rupal, then 13, reached the Kailash Prakash Stadium about 18 kilometres from dwelling. But she was in for a impolite shock. The amenities on the stadium disheartened {the teenager}.

“The stadium still doesn’t have a synthetic track. There is a grass track that is in terrible shape. The gym has no proper equipment. We had to save up money and get equipment for weight training,” she says.

With no monitor within the neighborhood, Rupal and her coaching companions haven’t any alternative however to journey to Delhi, about 100km away, thrice per week. That means waking up at 3 within the morning and overlaying a distance of greater than 500km per week simply to get fundamental coaching amenities. “Thrice a week we train at the Jawahar Lal Nehru stadium and return by 11 am. I have come this far training under such conditions,” Rupal says.

Rupal was naturally overjoyed at Friday’s victory over the much-fancied Priya.

Despite the hardships, Rupal isn’t going to again down and feels her greatest is but to return. “This is just the beginning and I have a lot of areas to improve on. My timings will dip down further,” says {the teenager} who, not surprisingly, needs to compete on the Olympics sooner or later.

Rupal’s jam-packed coaching schedule leaves no room for a social life or any leisure exercise. She additionally has to assist her household with family work. “My mother has some health complications and she needs my assistance. I cook, clean and do the dishes. After my training, I am assigned cleaning duty (laughs),” says Rupal.

When Rupal returns from Gujarat, {the teenager} is aware of that she should undergo the identical gruelling journey and coaching routine. And with out a lot alternative, she has considerably accepted it. “It is working out so far. I will practice harder and bring better results,” she says. But the shortage of an artificial monitor within the neighborhood is a big roadblock she admits.

“Kya aap Meerut mein synthetic track banwaa sakte ho ? (Can you set up a synthetic track in Meerut)?” she asks in a jovial tone.