Parul Chaudhary.
Who knew that a 28-year-old young woman who hails from the humble Ikaluta village in Meerut would one day make India swell with pride? She belongs to the Jat community and is one of the four children of Kishanlal Chaudhary and Rajesh Devi.
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Parul Chaudhary shined bright like a diamond at the 19th Asian Games taking place in Hangzhou. She bagged not one, but two medals – one gold and one silver. But who is she?
She is an Indian female steeplechaser. Steeplechase is a running race in which runners must clear various kinds of hurdles. As a 15-year-old school student, she started running barefoot and competed in the 800-metre race. She later switched to 1500 metres and 3000 metres and then took things up a notch by running 5000 metres.
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2023 has been a remarkable year in terms of Parul’s achievements in the field of sports. In July, she won gold in the women’s 3000m steeplechase at the Asian Athletics Championships. In August was held the World Athletics Championships where she made a national record in the 3000m steeplechase and qualified for the 2024 Olympics.
And now, at the Hangzhou Asian Games, she won gold in the 5000m race and silver in the 3000m race.
The 5000m race was a phenomenal one to watch because at first, Parul was lagging behind. She was at number 6 between the 8th and 9th lap. It was during the last 20 metres that she gave it her all. According to Tribune, there was a doubt in Parul’s mind that she would fail.
“But then I thought that I must fight, and my body responded,” she said.
Here’s a look at the last bit from her run where she overtakes her opponent:
Golden Girl Parul Chaudhary makes India Proud with this sensational finish in the Women’s 5000m. 🥇 pic.twitter.com/UcRMazSu0S
— K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) October 3, 2023
For the past two years, Parul has been training with Scott Simmons, the Colorado Springs-based coach.
“She has been training with the boys in Colorado Springs, she had been doing very similar training to the boys. She’s been with me for two years, and now she’s at a much higher level. She finished in the top 20 in the world at a cross-country race in the winter. She’s already at a world-class level,” he said.
Congratulations to Parul for her exceptional win! We hope to see her clinching more medals in the future. 😀