The 18th edition of the Athletics Federation Cup of India reserved for U20s took place in India in Bophal (Tatya Tope Nagar Stadium), located in the center of that gigantic Asian country.
The two track walking races (10,000m) took place:
- on the second day of competitions (January 26) that of women
- on the third day of competitions (January 27) that of men
10,000m track walk U20 women
Victory for Reshma Patel (19.9.2004), who set a new national U20 record in 48:25.90 breaking the previous record of Goswami Vijayawada (49:16.51) which dated back to 27.11.2014.
That the young woman was a potential talent, came in 2019 when Reshma, in her first national competition, broke the U16 national record of the 3,000 meters walk, with a mark of 14:14.83.
The story of this young athlete is largely due to the nose of her brother, Indrajeet Patel, a long distance runner.
It was he who a few years ago sent his younger sisters, first Roji (U20 national champion in 2019), then Reshma, in the city of Dehradun, with the aim of finding better training conditions, directing them to trace walking, under the technical guide of the specialist, Anoop Bisht, because in his state the economic conditions were impossible and his parents, who make a living from agriculture, barely reach his livelihood.
In Tuesday's race Reshma Patel (ING) overtook her most direct and experienced opponents, leaving them over 30” away.
Second place to Baljeet Kaur Bajwa (IND) in 49:00.27
Third place in Munita Prajapati (IND) in 49:13.86)
The fact that all three of these athletes came to the podium with times shorter than the previous national record speaks volumes about the investment that India is making in the specialty of race walk, starting in particular, from the youth categories.
10,000m track walk U20 men
Once again a walker on the shields on the third day of the Athletics Federation Cup of India (U20)
Amit Khatri (25.12.2003), from the state of Haryana, wins the 10,000m track walk race, with the mark of 40:40.97, and once again this represents the new national record in the U20 category.
India's previous national distance record was set at 40:47.78, time obtained by Akshdeep Singh at Ranchi 2018.
The story of Amit Khatri (IND) is also very recent. He began to stand out in the world of Indian walking when in 2018 he broke the national record of 5.000m U16, with a mark of 21:17.63.
In 2019 on the double distance he had a 43:36.26 as season best but in the Road Championships, in Ranchi, of 16.2.2020 he broke the Indian record in 10km walk, with a mark of 40:28.
Behind the 17-year-old Amit was his colleague from the same state (Haryana), Paramdeep Mor (IND), who finished the race in 41:08.45 with a gap of just over 17”.
Third place to Paramjeet Singh Bisht (Uttarakhand) in 42:10.92.
It will be interesting to see what happens at the U20 National Athletics Championships, which will take place on February 6, in Guwahati, Assam state. The expectations of seeing new national records are very high.