Lucknow: Sharuk Khan (18), a Class 12 student at the Guru Gobind Singh Sports College in Lucknow is set to chase his dream of making it big at the international level.
Sharuk, who hails from Sangrampur village in Pratapgarh, has been selected to represent India in the 3000m steeplechase event at the Junior World Athletics U20 Championships in Lima, Peru (South America), from Aug 27-31.
Talking to TOI from India camp in Bengaluru, Sharuk said, “I was brought into the world of sports by my mentor, Hadis, who lives in my village in Pratapgarh. He specializes in javelin throw. He guided me on how to secure admission to the sports college. I joined the sports college in Lucknow in 2018 in Class 6. I didn’t know much about state and national competitions. My athletics coach in the sports college, Vimal Rai, prepared me for state-level competitions.”
“During Covid-19 lockdown, when the sports college was closed, I continued my training at home. Later, my coach called me back to Lucknow, where I rented a room to prepare for national competitions. In 2021, I set a new national record in the 2km race in the Under-16 junior national event in Assam (5 min and 27 seconds),” he said.
Sharuk said that he started off as a middle-distance runner but switched to steeplechase on his coach’s advice. “In 2023, after just 20 days of training, I won gold at the state-level tournament in 3000m steeplechase and set a meet record of 5 min and 9 seconds in the national competition in Tamil Nadu,” he said.
“Due to this performance, I qualified for the Junior Asian Championship where I won a silver in South Korea with an Indian record time of 8 minutes and 51 seconds,” he said.
In 2024, Sharuk set a meet record with a time of 8 minutes and 57 seconds in the Under-20 junior federation athletics championships and qualified for both the Junior Asian Championship and the Junior World Athletics U20 Championship.
“Unfortunately, due to visa and passport issues, I could not participate in the Junior Asian Championships. However, I am determined to give my best at the Junior World Athletics U20 Championships and win gold for my country,” Sharuk said.
Sharuk thanked his athletics coach Vimal Rai for his support and said that he would live up to the expectations of his coach and well-wishers.
“Sharuk showed an unwavering passion from the beginning. He possesses a unique drive to work hard. I have high hopes for his performance at the Junior World Athletics Championship,” his coach Vimal Rai said.
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Publish date : 2024-08-11 12:16:00
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