Priyanka and Akshdeep qualified for the mega event with timings of 1:28.50 and 1:19.55 in the women’s and men’s 20km race walk respectively.
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Commonwealth Games (CWG) silver medalist Priyanka Goswami and Punjab’s Akshdeep Singh claim Summer Olympics 2024 quota to be held in Paris on February 14, 2022. They did so by breaching the Olympic qualification mark at the ongoing 10th Indian Open Race Walking Competition. Priyanka and Akshdeep qualified for the mega event with timings of 1:28.50 and 1:19.55 in the women’s and men’s 20km race walk respectively. The cut-off time set for the women’s 20km was 1:29.20, while for the men’s event, it was 1:20.10.
Priyanka Goswami’s time of 1:28.50 was just 0.05 seconds slower than her personal national record of 1:28.45. At the Tokyo Olympics, she competed for India and came in 17th position. In August 2022, she made history by becoming the first Indian woman to win a medal in race walking, taking silver in the 10,000m event at the Commonwealth Games 2022. Bhawana Jat, another Tokyo Olympian, finished second in the women’s 20km race walk with a timing of 1:29.45, just missing the qualifying mark.
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In contrast, Akshdeep Singh established a new national record in the men’s 20km race walk in Ranchi. He finished the 20-kilometer race walk with a timing of 1:19.55, making him the first Indian to do so in under an hour and 20 minutes. Sandeep Kumar held the previous record for the country, which was set at 1:20.16. Additionally, Akshdeep beat the male qualification standard for the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2023 World Championships, which was fixed at 1:20.10. The 21-year-old Suraj Panwar narrowly lost out on a spot in the Olympics and the World Championships in the men’s race by just 0.01 seconds. He clocked a time of 1:20.11 seconds to finish behind Akshdeep.
Besides women’s and men’s 20 km race walking, the U20 boys’ and girls’ 10km race walking competitions also took place on Tuesday. Day two of the competition will have a 35 km race walking in both men’s and women’s divisions. The qualifying time for the men’s 35 km race is 2:29.40 seconds. While , the timing for women’s 35 km is 2:51.30s. This year’s World Championships will be contested in Budapest from August 19 to 27.
Women
Gold – Priyanka Goswami (Uttar Pradesh) – 1:28.50
Silver – Bhawana Jat (Rajasthan) – 1:29.44
Bronze – Sonal Sukhwal (Rajasthan) – 1:31.03
Men
Gold – Akshdeep Singh (Punjab) – 1:19.55
Silver – Suraj Panwar (Uttarakhand) – 1:20.11
Bronze – Vikash Singh (Delhi) – 1:21.08
