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There is only one way to succeed at anything, and that is to give all your blood, sweat and hard work. Srabani Nanda, a sprinter from India who has been making the country proud in various track events, personifies this.
Nanda, born on July 5, 1991, in the Kandhamal district of Odisha, is a sprint runner athlete who specializes in 4x100 m Relay, 100m sprint and 200m sprint events. She has represented the country at various international events, winning several medals at the national level.
From modest beginnings, Nanda trained at the Government Sports Hostel, Bhubaneswar. She has been coached and trained under the able Nila Madhab Deo and Tarun Shaw of the Sports Authority of India (SAI).
Most recently, Nanda won bronze in the 100 m category at the second leg of the Asian Grand Prix Games, held in Thailand. She finished in 11.72 seconds, winning her second consecutive medal in the event following her performance in the opening leg where she also won bronze. She also won a medal as a member of the 4x100 m Relay team that finished third at the Asian Grand Prix.
Nanda, who joined the State Sports Hostel, Bhubaneswar in 2002, has also been trained at the Mittal Champions Trust in South Africa and Australia in 2009 and 2011. Arguably one of the most talented and fastest young sprinters in the country, she has a personal best of 11.54 seconds in 100 m and 23.54 seconds in the 200 m category. Her personal best in the 4x100 m Relay is 44.81 seconds, which she achieved in Glasgow in the year 2014.
She was a member of the Indian contingent that participated in the 17th Asian Games in 2014. Her team placed third and won a bronze medal in the 4x100 m relay category at the Commonwealth Games in 2010.
Nanda has made the country proud since she was a youngster. 2008 was a great year for the sprinter, who bagged the gold medal in the 4x100 m Relay category at the Youth Commonwealth Games that year. She bagged a bronze medal in both the 100m and 200m events at the SAF Games held in Colombo the previous year.
She has been a consistent performer at national events, winning a gold in the 100m and 200m category in the 19th Federation Cup Senior National Athletics Championship of 2015. Nanda was adjudged the best female athlete at the Championships. She had earlier won a silver medal in the 100m category and a silver in the 4x100 m Relay category at the 2010 iteration of the same event. She bagged two gold medals in the 100m and 200m category at the 24th Junior National Athletics Championship in 2008.
The soon-to-be-24-year-old has a long way to go in the world of athletics. Her dedication and determination indicate that Nanda will continue to make the country proud at the international level, and India will one day be counted amongst the best nations in Track and Field Athletics. An inspiration for many young boys and girls, she is a true champion at her game.
