Jharkhand’s 2022 Asian Youth champion in 800m is yet to get any incentive from the government

Asha Kiran Barla, Jharkhand’s 2022 Asian youth champion in 800m from a village near Gumla, dominated the middle distance track event at the Khelo India Youth Games that concluded on Sunday (February 5) in Bhopal. Apart from winning the 1500m girls title, she pocketed gold in 800m to become the first female athlete in the track and field to score a double.

For winning medal at the 2022 international meet and 2022 edition of the Khelo India Youth Games held in Haryana, the Jharkhand runner is yet to get any cash rewards from the government.

“She hasn’t got any cash incentive either from the state or the central government to win a medal at the Asian level,” Asha’s personal coach Ashu Bhatia told Sportskeeda on the sidelines of the athletics meet in Bhopal.

According to Ashu, who has been mentor and coach of Asha, they have apprised the financial problems faced by the athlete to the Sports Authority of India (SAI), but haven’t got any Khelo India Youth Games scholarship, which is Rs 10,000 per month.

“Asha’s father passed away a long time back. Her mother is a daily wage labour. The family is facing financial hardship. If she gets prize money for her efforts at the international and national level, it will be a big support to the athlete,” the coach added.

During her (Asha's) formative years, the coach said, the family from the village near Gumla struggled to have one meal a day.

“Life was tough for Asha’s family. The village is virtually cut off from the outside world and there are no basic amenities,” Ashu said.

The only credit Asha got for winning gold at the 2022 Asian Athletics Championships in the girls 800m group was entry to the national camp in preparation for the 2023 Asian Youth Athletics Championships scheduled to be held in May.

“The tentative date to send the entries for the Asian Athletics Championships of the Indian contingent is February 28. We have shortlisted Asha for the 800m and 1500m,” official of the Athletics Federation of India confirmed Asha’s participation in the continental event.

Despite having knee pain during the Bhopal edition of the Khelo India Youth Games, Asha exhibited resilience in winning two gold medals.

“The pain in my left knee has been bothering me for a long time. Since the other athletes in the race weren’t running fast during Bhopal's youth games, it was an advantage for me as I preferred to stay back and then push hard in the last 200m of the race,” the Asian youth champion revealed. “The knee pain was the main reason I couldn’t run fast.”

The Jharkhand runner said she has been visiting physio in Ranchi, but the pain subsides during treatment and crops up again when she pushes hard in practice.

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More about Asha Kiran Barla

Asha started playing hockey in her village to escape poverty and compete in local prize money hockey tournaments, but the games teacher at the local missionary school in Gumla encouraged her to switch to running. The move paid off as she won the under-14 girls 600m title at the 2017 national inter-district meet. It was the beginning of her journey to the running world.

Her coach Ashu, who runs an athletics academy in Bokaro, spotted her during a local school meet in Gumla. On the advice of the coach, Asha shifted to Bokaro for practice.

“I joined national camp earlier in January in Bengaluru. There are good facilities under one umbrella. I hope to recover faster from the knee pain,” Asha said.