2 min readMay 16, 2026 10:11 PM IST
Middle-distance runner Parul Chaudhary ran the second-fastest 3000m steeplechase race by an Indian woman to finish seventh in the season-opening Shanghai Diamond League meeting on Saturday. Parul, the national record holder, clocked 9 minutes 12.84 seconds, slightly slower than her personal best of 9:12.46.
The 31-year-old from Uttar Pradesh was running her first race of the season after the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo and was up against a field which featured Tokyo Olympic champion Peruth Chemutai of Uganda and reigning World champion Faith Cherotich of Kenya.
Parul started in the middle running pack and maintained a consistent pace throughout the race. She remained in eighth position till 2800m before producing a kick in the final 200m to go past USA’s Lexy Halladay to finish seventh and earned two points in the race for Diamond League Finals qualification.
Parul has a packed calendar in the 2026 season with Commonwealth Games and Asian Games scheduled in the space of one month. While a double podium finish (in 3000 steeplechase and 5,000m) is expected from her at Aichi-Nagoya, the CWG will be a bigger challenge given the presence of African athletes in the middle-distance events.
Parul is expected to race next at next week’s Federation Cup in Ranchi.
It was a dramatic photo finish between Chemutai and Cherotich in Shanghai on Saturday. Chemutai, who took the lead at around 1200m, maintained it thereafter but broke into a premature celebration that almost cost her the race. Cherotich, who was closely following the Ugandan got into a sprint in the last 200m but fell short by 100th of a second.
“I thought I had won. At the finish, I could see Faith’s right hand and I knew it was close. It is special to win today. It gives me confidence ahead of next week when I race again in Xiamen,” Chemutai said after the race.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
