Despite breaking 3-hour barrier for 35km race walk, Manju Rani missed the 2024 Paris Olympic Games

Punjab’s 23-year-old Manju Rani broke the three-hour barrier on her way to winning gold in the women’s 35km race walk event on the concluding day of the 10th National Open Race Walking Championships in Ranchi on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Ram Baboo of Uttar Pradesh bettered his national record in the men’s 35km race. Despite setting national records, the winners didn't qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and 2023 World Athletics Championships.

Manju’s winning time of 2:57:54.00 was better than the previous national record of 3:00:04.00 set by Ramandeep Kaur in 2022.

Elated at setting a national record, the racewalker said she stayed focused on the race, which enabled her to win a gold medal:

“I had worked hard for the national championships and am happy to have won a gold medal in Ranchi,” she added. “I will continue to work hard to qualify for the Paris Olympic Games.”

Payal Uttarakhand, the 2022 National Games champion in the 35km, settled for silver. Meanwhile, Bandana Patel of Uttar Pradesh took home the bronze medal. Both Payal and Bandana failed to keep pace with Manju and weren’t successful in breaking the three-hour barrier.

Of the 16 female competitors in the fray for the 35km, only eight finished the race.

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In addition to Manju Rani's performance, the men's 35km delivered similar action

On the men’s side, Baboo was in a different league and finished nearly four minutes ahead of his nearest rival in the 35km. His winning time was 2:31:36.00, which was better than his previous national record of 2:36:34.00.

“I was confident of improving my performance over the 35km distance,” Baboo said of rewriting the national record in Ranchi.

Defending champion Juned Khan finished second with a personal best time of 2:36:04.00. Army’s seasoned international racewalker Chandan Singh finished third in 2:36:55.00.

It will be interesting to see how these star athletes prepare moving forward.