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CHANDIGARH: Almost a month after eclipsing the 19-year-old national record of Sunita Rani in women’s 1500m, Harmilan Kaur Bains is eager to get back to her training regime from Monday, as she eyes her very first international medal at the upcoming Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Bangkok in February, 2022.
The 23-year-old had last month, won the women’s 1500m race by clocking 4:05 in the 60th National Open Athletics Championships in Warangal. In the process, she broke Sunita Rani’s long standing record of 4:06.03 set at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan. The Patiala athlete had also pocketed the gold medal in the women’s 800m race at the same event.
On a break after the season-ending domestic tournament in Warangal, Harmilan is all set to take the track and resume her training at the National Institute of Sports in Patiala from Monday. With the Covid-19 restrictions gradually being lifted for entry of non-campers at the campus, Harmilan, who was forced to train at Dharamsala for the better part of the season, can resume her training at her hometown.
“After the season-ending Nationals, I was given a 10-day break by the coach but with the condition that I will continue with my fitness regime at home, and from Monday, I will be back to where I love spending most of my time,” an excited Harmilan told TOI, on the sidelines of a felicitation event conducted by Playwrite Foundation here on Sunday.
“While the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games are still almost a year away, the immediate goal is to finish at the podium at the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships. But it won’t be a cakewalk as the track there is mostly used for sprint and getting used to it will need proper training,” she added.
“I’ve set a new national record but I think I can push myself even further. I am sure with extensive training I will be able to qualify for Paris 2024,” said the athlete, who narrowly missed out on Tokyo qualification in June.
During the event, the co-founders of PlayWrite Foundation Chitranjan Agarwal, and Vivek Atray hailed Harmilan’s recent achievement, saying she will be an inspiration to many budding athletes. The duo also assured their support to the athlete and wished her to go a long way in the upcoming championships.
A handful of female athletes of the city were also present there to interact with Harmilan, the daughter of Busan Asian Games 800m silver medallist Madhuri Singh and Amandeep Bains, 1500m medallist at the South Asian Games.
On the future of athletics in the state, she feels there is a need to develop at least one track in every district.
The 23-year-old had last month, won the women’s 1500m race by clocking 4:05 in the 60th National Open Athletics Championships in Warangal. In the process, she broke Sunita Rani’s long standing record of 4:06.03 set at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan. The Patiala athlete had also pocketed the gold medal in the women’s 800m race at the same event.
On a break after the season-ending domestic tournament in Warangal, Harmilan is all set to take the track and resume her training at the National Institute of Sports in Patiala from Monday. With the Covid-19 restrictions gradually being lifted for entry of non-campers at the campus, Harmilan, who was forced to train at Dharamsala for the better part of the season, can resume her training at her hometown.
“After the season-ending Nationals, I was given a 10-day break by the coach but with the condition that I will continue with my fitness regime at home, and from Monday, I will be back to where I love spending most of my time,” an excited Harmilan told TOI, on the sidelines of a felicitation event conducted by Playwrite Foundation here on Sunday.
“While the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games are still almost a year away, the immediate goal is to finish at the podium at the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships. But it won’t be a cakewalk as the track there is mostly used for sprint and getting used to it will need proper training,” she added.
“I’ve set a new national record but I think I can push myself even further. I am sure with extensive training I will be able to qualify for Paris 2024,” said the athlete, who narrowly missed out on Tokyo qualification in June.
During the event, the co-founders of PlayWrite Foundation Chitranjan Agarwal, and Vivek Atray hailed Harmilan’s recent achievement, saying she will be an inspiration to many budding athletes. The duo also assured their support to the athlete and wished her to go a long way in the upcoming championships.
A handful of female athletes of the city were also present there to interact with Harmilan, the daughter of Busan Asian Games 800m silver medallist Madhuri Singh and Amandeep Bains, 1500m medallist at the South Asian Games.
On the future of athletics in the state, she feels there is a need to develop at least one track in every district.
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