Sportskeeda's Indian Sportsperson of the Year 2016 – No. 25 to No. 16

#18 Lalita Babar

Babar became the first long-distance runner to qualify for the Olympics in 32 years

Lalita Babar is a long-distance runner who became the first Indian to make it to the finals of any track event in the Olympics in 32 years.

She predominantly competes in the 3000m steeplechase and is the reigning Asian champion. Before the Olympics, Lalita broke her own national record with a timing of 9:28.09 at the Federation Cup National Athletics Championships in New Delhi in April.

The 27-year-old steeplechaser finished Heat 2 of the 3000m steeplechase event at the Rio Olympics with a timing of 9:19.76, thus bettering her own mark. This saw her secure a berth in the finals. PT Usha was the first Indian to achieve this feat back in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics when she qualified for the finals in women’s 400m hurdles.

In the finals, however, she could not replicate her performance in the heats and finished 10^th with a timing of 9:22.74 despite her best efforts. Lalita came so close to winning a medal in an event in which India has never won one and she finds her name on 18^th on our list.