AHMEDABAD: In November 2020, when Covid cases in India were ebbing, Sagar Joshi, a national-level race walker, was admitted to the Army Hospital in Pune with moderate Covid-19.
A havildar in the Indian Army, Joshi left no stone unturned even while in the hospital — practising in the ward for an hour with walking drills, and doing pushups and yoga.
His determination was evident in his first race after Covid in February, when he won bronze at the 50km race walking in the 8th Open National & 4th International Race Walking Championship in Ranchi. On Friday, at the 60th National Open Athletics Championships 2021 at the J N Stadium in Warangal, Telangana, the race walker from Isanpur in Ahmedabad did better, winning silver in the 35km race walk with a time of 2:53:43.
Ram Baboo from UP won gold with a time of 2:46:31, while bronze was claimed by Surinder Singh of Punjab in 2:54:22.
Speaking to TOI after winning the medal, Joshi said, “My aim was to win gold, but I had participated in an interservices competition in a 50km race walk in Bhubaneswar fifteen days ago. The conditions there were very harsh. Humidity was around 98% and the temperature was 34°C. I still managed to participate here and win a silver medal. I am happy with my performance.” The 34-year-old said if his body was in better shape, he would have given Baboo stiffer competition. “I began the race nicely. Towards the middle, it was up and down and I was second and he was first. I slowed down and fell back in the last 5km. Otherwise, my timing would have been sub 2:50,” he said.
He rues missing qualification for the Tokyo Olympics. “I missed the Tokyo Olympics because I was 33 points behind the automatic qualification criteria. After that, I could not participate in international events because India was hit by the severe second wave of Covid-19 resulting in a travel ban on Indians.” With the 50km race walk excluded from the 2024 Paris Olympics, Joshi’s focus is the 35km event. “Next year, we have the World Race Walking Championship in Russia and I want to qualify and win a medal for the country. My bigger aim is to qualify for the Paris Olympics.”
