Durgesh eyeing World Youth C’ships gold

Talking to The Indian Express,Durgesh,who hails from Ghazipur district of Uttar Pradesh,confided,“I was unaware of my talent in he 400m hurdles event. It was only in 2009 that while practising for my regular event that I got injured and my coach Ajimon KS advised me to take the 400m hurdles event. Though I had performed well in the 800m event at the national level meets but establishing a new record at Coimbatore instilled confidence in me about this event. Winning a gold in the Youth Asian Meet in May this year boosted my confidence further. Though I missed the gold only by a whisker,I am practicing hard for bringing back home a gold in the World Youth Championships 2011.”

Durgesh who started his athletic career in Pune in 2005 and represents Maharashtra in national meets said,“My father Ram Bachchan is a games teacher at a college in Ghazipur. He had played hockey till the All India level when he was a youngster so I too took to hockey in 2002.

However,things changed for me once I participated in the trials organised by a team from Army Sports Institute,Pune at Ambala for Mission Olympics talent search in 2005. After getting selected in the trials,I took to athletics and have been working hard at the Boys Sports Company,Pune since then.”

Regarding his visit to the state capital,Durgesh said that he had come to meet Sports Minister (UP) Ayodhya Prasad Pal “to apprise him of my achievement. The Sports Minister has asked me to give the details about my achievements in athletics,” he informed.