Rupal makes smooth transition from grass to synthetic track

Quarter-miler HM Priya was undoubtedly the favourite to take home gold at the U 20 Federation Cup in Nadiad, Gujarat on Friday until a certain 17-year-old outshone her just .01seconds. Meerut’s Rupal clocked a solid 52.48s under the scorching Gujarat sun. Rupal had already achieved the U 20 World Championships qualification mark of 55.20s in the heats itself where she clocked 53.91s.
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Rupal was naturally overjoyed at Friday’s victory over the much-fancied Priya, who topped the India charts last year. “She is such a fine runner. She is one of the best junior athletes in the world and beating her in a way proves that I am a fine athlete as well. My confidence has been boosted,” Rupal says with a lot of admiration for Priya.
Priya came into the competition having already clocked the jr Worlds qualification timing.Best of Express PremiumPremiumPremiumPremiumPremium
Rupal first came into the limelight in October last year when she clocked (53.73s) the best timings in the 400m National Open. Priya and Rupal have contrasting backgrounds. While Priya has just returned from a training stint in Europe, Rupal has been shuttling between Meerut and Delhi to get access to a synthetic track.
“Main toh gaon ki ladki hun (I am a village girl),” Rupal says in an assertive tone when asked about her background. Rupal, who comes from a farmer family in Meerut, always had a liking for running.
Rupal isn’t going to back down and feels her best is yet to come.
After outshining her fellow athletes at the school level, the next step for Rupal was to train at a professional stadium. Rupal, then 13, reached the Kailash Prakash Stadium about 18 kilometres from home. But she was in for a rude shock. The facilities at the stadium disheartened the teenager.
“The stadium still doesn’t have a synthetic track. There is a grass track that is in terrible shape. The gym has no proper equipment. We had to save up money and get equipment for weight training,” she says.
With no track in the vicinity, Rupal and her training partners have no choice but to travel to Delhi, about 100km away, thrice a week. That means waking up at 3 in the morning and covering a dance of more than 500km a week just to get basic training facilities. “Thrice a week we train at the Jawahar Lal Nehru stadium and return 11 am. I have come this far training under such conditions,” Rupal says.
Rupal was naturally overjoyed at Friday’s victory over the much-fancied Priya.
Despite the hardships, Rupal isn’t going to back down and feels her best is yet to come. “This is just the beginning and I have a lot of areas to improve on. My timings will dip down further,” says the teenager who, not surprisingly, wants to compete at the Olympics one day.
Rupal’s jam-packed training schedule leaves no room for a social life or any recreational activity. She also has to help her family with household work. “My mother has some health complications and she needs my assance. I cook, clean and do the dishes. After my training, I am assigned cleaning duty (laughs),” says Rupal.
When Rupal returns from Gujarat, the teenager knows that she will have to go through the same gruelling travel and training routine. And without much choice, she has somewhat accepted it. “It is working out so far. I will practice harder and bring better results,” she says. But the lack of a synthetic track in the vicinity is a huge roadblock she admits.
“Kya aap Meerut mein synthetic track banwaa sakte ho ? (Can you set up a synthetic track in Meerut)?” she asks in a jovial tone.