Teenager Neeru Pathak hopes to continue his good form ahead of the U20 World Championships | More sports news

CHENNAI: Delhi's Neeru Pathak had a memorable outing at the recently concluded National Youth Athletics Championships. Neeru, 17, broke qualifying records in two events (200m and 400m) for the U20 World Athletics Championships. She broke the national record (in the U-18 category) in the women's 400m in 52.85 seconds, then broke the competition record in the 200m with a time of 23.94 seconds.

“I didn't expect to run under 52 seconds in the 400m before the tournament started. I wanted to reach the qualifying mark and have a good race (acchi race lagani hai). My aim will then be to win a medal at the U20 World Championships,” Neeru told TOI.

Before the junior nationals, Neeru had a good outing at the junior national competition. At the Delhi state meet, the youngster clocked 53.9 seconds to finish on the top step of the podium.

Neeru trains under the tutelage of coach Vishal Saxena who helped shape the career of quarter miler Rupal Chaudhary. Rupal was part of the women's 4x400m relay team that qualified for the Paris Olympics in the Bahamas.

“I train in Meerut on muddy tracks under coach Vishal Saxena, and we travel to Delhi three times a week to train on a synthetic track. I saw Vishal sir training several athletes in Delhi and approached him to train under him. It's been almost three years since I joined. He made me a better athlete,” Neeru added.

“My father is a farmer and my mother is a housewife. I used to feed lunch to my father on his farmland by running 3-4 km daily from home on the roads. I ran pretty fast, which made me think I might get into athletics. Even though many were unhappy with my decision, my father stood up for me and was very supportive. In my first state competition in Delhi, I didn't finish well and was disappointed. My father told me not to lose hope and motivated me to train hard.