India’s ace middle-distance runner Parul Chaudhary kicked off her season in the 3000m steeplechase event with the second-best-ever Indian timing at the Shanghai Diamond League last week. The 31-year-old from Uttar Pradesh clocked 9 minutes 12.84 seconds, slightly slower than her personal best and national record of 9:12.46.
“The idea was to record a personal best in the season opener. I missed it by a whisker, but overall I am happy with the race and how my season has started,” Parul told The Indian Express in an interview. “The performance has set my course for the season with many international competitions lined up.”
Parul finished seventh in a distinguished field that had Tokyo Olympic champion Peruth Chemutai of Uganda and reigning World champion Faith Cherotich of Kenya. The African duo produced a dramatic photo finish with experienced Chemutai prevailing to win the title.
When asked how much the competition helped, Parul said that it is always advantageous to run in a world-class field that pushes her to achieve better timings. “The advantage of competing with the world-class athletes is the constant push we get as an athlete. I have competed at World Championships and multiple Diamond Leagues, and it has helped me in improving,” she said.
Currently, Parul is the best Indian athlete in steeplechase. To put in context, Parul has clocked seven out of the top ten timings by an Indian in the event, and the top four belong to her. The next best among current athletes is Ankita Dhyani, who has a personal best of 9 minutes 27.91 seconds.
“I need to keep competing at the International level, as that is where I get a lot of push. I had planned to compete at other international competitions, but it couldn’t materialise for now,” said Parul, who won’t be a part of the Federation Cup Athletics starting on 22nd May in Ranchi, as she has already breached the Commonwealth Games qualification mark of 9:27.41 set by the Athletics Federation of India for 3000m SC.
Focus on CWG debut
Athletics in the Commonwealth Games is a world-class field with athletes from Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and the Caribbean participating. It was the 2022 CWG that pushed men’s national record holder Avinash Sable to the international level after he broke the Kenyan dominance in the event with a silver medal.
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“I have never competed in any Commonwealth Games. So, this is going to be my debut at the Games, and I am very excited for it. Commonwealth Games is a very competitive field with the presence of African athletes,” said Parul.
Asian Games will be relatively easier for Parul, who is one of the best in Asia and won a silver medal at the 2022 edition in the 3000m steeplechase and gold in 5000m. “Yes, CWG is going to be my priority where I’ll focus on steeplechase, and I would try to do both 5000m and steeplechase at the Asian Games,” said Parul.
Parul, who trains at SAI Bengaluru and trains under Dr Kalyan Chaudhary, has worked on her strength and speed during the off-season. “There was a lot of time after the last season, and I worked on both my strength and speed,” said Parul.
In Shanghai, Parul ran a consistent race with an average speed of 19.54 km/h and produced a kick in the last 200m to finish seventh. “In practice, we usually train for the last kick, so that we have a good finish, but a lot of the time it depends on the race situation also. In Shanghai, the race situation was good for me, and I was in control, so that is why I could have a good finish,” explained Parul.
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With CWG and Asian Games in sight, Parul has a chance to further cement her place as one of the best middle-distance runners on the continent.
