Bhawana Jat named in Indian squad for Asian 20km Race Walk Championships

What's the story?

Tokyo Olympics-bound Bhawana Jat has been named in the Indian team that will be travelling to Nomi, Japan for the Asian 20km Race Walk Championships.

The background

Earlier unknown, Bhawana burst to the spotlight when she pulled off a shock win in 20km race walk at the 7th National Race Walk Championships in Ranchi on February 15.

The young athlete clocked 1 hour 29 minutes and 54 seconds and broke the national record in the process. The record was earlier held by Delhi's Baby Soumya and had been standing strong for two years.

Bhawana also qualified for the coveted 2020 Summer Olympics, the qualification mark for which is 1 hour and 31 minutes in the Women's 20km race walk event.

The female race walker also became the first Indian woman to clock a timing of under 1 hours and 30 minutes.

The heart of the matter

Bhawana has now been named in the 13-member Indian team for the Asian 20km Race Walk Championships slated to held in Japan on March 15. Jat is one of the five women named for the Asian extravaganza. The other four women race walkers named for the Championships are Karamjit Kaur, Sonal Sukhwal, Priyanka Goswami, and Ravina.

Priyanka Goswami had clocked 1:31:36 at the National Race Walk Championships and narrowly missed out on securing an Olympics quota by just 36 seconds. She will be looking to secure a berth at the Asian event.

The 23-year-old Bhawana, on the other hand, will look to improve upon her timing further. Coming from a farmer's family at Kabra Village of Rajsamand district of Rajasthan, the Asian meet will be no less than a dream opportunity for Bhawana.

Ravina had clinched a Silver medal at the Asian meet in 2018 with a timing of 1:35:35 and will also be a favourite for a podium finish.

Meanwhile, the eight male race walkers who have been selected to represent India at the Championships are 2020 National Championships gold-medallist Sandeep Kumar, silver medal winner Rahul, and bronze medal winner Vikash Singh. Apart from these three, the other five are Ek Nath Turambekar, Ganapathi Krishnan, Irfan Kolothum Thodi, Chandan Singh, and Devender Singh.

Irfan Kolothum Thodi had bagged a Bronze medal during the 2017 edition with a timing of 1:20:59.

What's next?

The 13-member Indian team has been carefully picked by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI). The criterion for the selection was performances at the National Open Race Walking Championships that was held on February 15-16.

The Indian athletes will look to impress at the Asian 20km Race Walk event and aim for a few podium finishes. All eyes will be on the newfound star Bhawana Jat.