India’s lesser-known and unsung Olympic medal hopefuls

‘They used to call me a nutcase’

Some questioned his mental balance, others referred to him as the village idiot while most in Garur—a hamlet in Bageshwar town of Almora district in Uttarakhand—simply called him sarkit or crazy. Not like Nitender Singh Rawat cared about it too much or let it get to him. He never deterred from his true passion, and kept at it. Running was more than a hobby for him though. In his own words, “It was an addiction.”

It didn’t take too long though for the marathoner to win over his village and if anything for them to start rooting for him.

“Mujhe sarkit bulate the, lekin medals aane lage to nazariya badal gaya (they used to call me a nutcase but soon changed their opinion once the medals started pouring in),” says Rawat, who will be in action on the final day of Rio 2016.

Enrolled as a sepoy in the 6 Kumaon Regiment in general quota, he started participating in cross country events at unit level and got selected as a promising athlete in the Army Node. Rawat subsequently shifted to the Army Sports Institute in 2010 and said he felt uneasy. For, suddenly he had no way to indulge in his addiction. He wasn’t getting to run.

He then got promoted to the rank of Havildar. It would prove to be a turning point of sorts. For, it allowed him to participate in the Inter Services Athletics Championship of 2015 and it is here that he ran his first marathon, incidentally finishing first with a time of 2:21:43, which qualified him for the Military World Games in Korea.

The 29-year-old bettered his mark in Mungyeong in October that year, clocking 2:18:07, and thereby qualifying for his first-ever Olympics. He maintained an edge over his compatriots, and kept bettering his timings along the way. In the Mumbai Marathon the following January, he broke the four-year course record held by Ram Singh Yadav with a 2:15:48 finish.

He was only getting warmed up. Next month, he won a gold medal in the SAFF Games held in Guwahati. Rawat in fact came very close to eclipsing the Games record of 2:15:03 set by Baikuntha Manandhar of Nepal in 1987.

And in Rio, he’s looking forward to continue this run of impressive performances, and maybe even aim for an elusive medal. “I want to break the national record of 2:12:00 of 1978 vintage set by fellow soldier, Shiv Nath Singh, and yes make my country proud,” he says.

Kheta Ram, Marathon: Sunday, 18:00 hrs IST

Searching for an oasis….in Rio

When Kheta Ram decided to take up marathon running, he did so simply with a trip to Rio on his mind. Already a 5,000m and 10,000m runner when he first took to competing in the 42.135 km event in late 2015, the 33-year-old initially was keeping all his options open for Olympic qualification.

“Whichever event I got through with, it was fine. Main thing was to just qualify,” he says.

And so it happened that at the Mumbai Marathon in January this year, Ram clocked 2:17:23, well ahead of the 2:19 qualification mark.

The Naik Subedar of the 6th Jat Regiment had always been one for middle or long distance running though. Hailing from the Khokhar village in the Barmer district of Rajasthan, placed right in the midst of the unforgiving Thar Desert, Ram would walk through sand for four km everyday to school and back.

“Your legs need to work extra hard on sand, since you never get a good grip,” explains his coach Surender Singh Bhandari, “As a result, he developed very powerful calf muscles which is very useful for him now.”

More than his fitness however, Bhandari counts Ram’s mental strength and focus as his major traits. Traits that according to coach, were devolped more through an impoverished upbringing.

“His parents were farmers in a place where you’d barely get water. Na ke he barabar tha,” he mentions. Poverty stricken, Ram would make do with whatever little his family could afford, be it missing meals or even walking barefoot.

“Imagine him walking through the stinging heat of the sand, without any footwear. It’s made him a very strong person mentally.” Bhandari asserts. And maybe strong enough to withstand the seering conditions of Rio, where the marathon is set to commence at 9.30 am Brazil time.

Thonakal Gopi: Marathon: Sunday, 18:00 hrs IST

From pace-setter to dream-catcher

Born and brought up in the hilly district of Wayanad in Kerala, Thokanal Gopi had been running up and down hills from an early age. Attending school in his hometown of Sulthan Bathery itself involved a long walk through the high-altitude terrain. Then there was the hard work on his parents’ farm where the family grew rice and ginger. Subsequently however, the 28-year-old developed a high work rate and great level of endurance.

The first example of his stamina came at the Mumbai Marathon in January. Gopi had been appointed pace setter for Olympic bound Nitendra Singh Rawat. His responsibility was to accompany his senior runner till the 30 km mark and then fall back.

Only, Gopi didn’t fall back. He kept on running and eventually finished his first-ever marathon in second place behind Rawat, clocking a time of 2:16:15 – enough to secure a spot for him at Rio. “He told me after the race that he didn’t feel tired after 30 km, and so decided to carry on. It was quite a surprise,” explains Surender Singh Bhandari, who has been coaching Gopi since 2012.

It was also that same level of endurance that helped Gopi pass a fitness test when he applied to the army as a 21-year-old. At that stage the Havaldar in the Artillery Regiment had already started winning medals at school and college levels in his original 5,000m and 10,000m events.

Despite qualifying for the long distance event in Rio, he still practices the two middle distance disciplines. So much so that he broke the games record in the 10,000m event, when he won gold at the 2016 South Asian Games in Guwahati.