Lalita Babar

Lalita Babar

Lalita Babar at the 2016 Olympics
Personal information
Full name Lalita Shivaji Babar
Nationality Indian
Born (1989-06-02) 2 June 1989
Mohi, Satara, Maharashtra, India
Height 1.66 m (5 ft 5 1⁄2 in)
Weight 50 kg (110 lb)
Sport
Sport Track and field
Event(s) 3000 metres steeplechase
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s) 9:19.76 (Rio de Janeiro 2016) NR
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  India
Asian Games
2014 Incheon 3000 m steeplechase
Asian Championships
2015 Wuhan 3000 m steeplechase
Updated on 13 August 2016.

Lalita Babar (born 2 June 1989) is an Indian long-distance runner. She was born in a small village in the Satara district, Maharashtra. She predominantly competes in the 3000 metres steeplechase and is the current Indian national record holder and the reigning Asian Champion in the same event.

Babar was named as the Sports Person of the Year in the India Sports Awards 2015 organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports of India.She was recently honored with prestigious Arjuna Award 2016 at the hands of Hon. President of India for her contribution in the field of atheletics. She is currently supported by Anglian Medal Hunt Company.

Early life and junior career

Babar was born on 2 June 1989 in Mohi, a village in Satara district, in the Indian State of Maharashtra into a family of farmers.[1] She was born in an area which was regularly affected by droughts, which adversely affects the agriculture in the area.[2]

Babar started her career in athletics as a long-distance runner at a young age. She won her first Gold medal in the U-20 National Championships at Pune in 2005.[3]

She is currently supported by Anglian Medal Hunt Company, a sports management company based in New Delhi.[4]

Career

Babar began her career in track and field athletics as a long-distance runner.

In 2014, she became the hat-trick winner of the Mumbai Marathon.[5] Determined to win a medal in multi-discipline events like the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games, she switched to 3000 metres steeplechase in January 2014, following her win at the marathon. At the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, she won the bronze medal clocking 9:35.37 in the final. In the process, she broke the national record held by Sudha Singh.[6] But after disqualification of the gold medallist Ruth Jebet from Bahrain, Lalita was promoted to the silver medal.[7]

At the 2015 Asian Championships, Babar won the gold medal clocking 9:34.13 and broke her own personal record, the Indian national record and the games record. In the process, she qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics. She also qualified for 2016 Summer Olympic in Marathon with her personal best of 2:38:21 at Mumbai Marathon 2015.[8] She went on to break the record again at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing with a time of 9:27.86 in her qualifying heat.[9] Being the first Indian woman to qualify for the steeplechase final, she placed eighth in the final.[10][11]

In April 2016, she again bettered the national record with a time of 9:27.09 at the Federation Cup National Athletics Championships in New Delhi.[12] At the Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics, she bettered it with a time of 9:19.76 in her heat, qualifying to the final, and in the process became the first Indian in 32 years to enter a final in any track event.[13] At the final, she finished 10th with a time of 9:22.74.[14]

Competition record

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing  India
2014 Asian Games Incheon, South Korea 2nd 3000 metres steeplechase 9:35.37
2015 Asian Championships Wuhan, China 1st 3000 metres steeplechase 9:34.13
World Championships Beijing, China 8th 3000 metres steeplechase 9:29.64
2016 Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 10th 3000 metres steeplechase 9:22.74

Awards

Sports Person of the Year Awards (2015) - India Sports Awards 2015 (FICCI and Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports) Arjuna Award 2016 by Government of India[15][16]

References

  1. ↑ Waghmode, Vinayak (15 August 2016). "All eyes today on 'Mandeshi Express' Lalita Babar". The Times of India. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  2. ↑ "Family Battling Drought, but Lalita on a High with Asian Athletics Gold". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2015-11-02.
  3. ↑ No Challenge is steep for Satara Girl Lalita Babar
  4. ↑ "Lalita Babar on course for Rio 2016 despite IAAF loss". Sportskeeda. 27 August 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  5. ↑ "Lalita Babar sets new course record; completes hat-trick of titles at Mumbai Marathon". Daily News and Analysis. 19 January 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  6. ↑ "Babar's decision to choose steeplechase pays off handsomely". Bangalore Mirror. 28 September 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  7. ↑ "Asian Games 2014: Lalita wins silver, Sudha bronze in steeplechase". IBNLive. Retrieved 2015-11-02.
  8. ↑ Rayan, Stan (6 June 2015). "Vikas Gowda and Lalita Babar strike gold". The Hindu. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  9. ↑ Women's 3000 metres steeplechase heats results
  10. ↑ "5 Things About Lalita Babar – 1st Indian to Reach Steeplechase Finals, World Athletics Championships - The Better India". The Better India. Retrieved 2015-11-02.
  11. ↑ Women's 3000 metres steeplechase results
  12. ↑ "Lalita Babar Sets National Mark, Sudha Singh Qualifies For Olympics". NDTV. 29 April 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  13. ↑ "Chasing Olympic medal, Lalita Babar enters final 32 years after PT Usha". The Indian Express. 14 August 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  14. ↑ "Lalita Babar finishes 10th in 3,000m steeplechase". The Indian Express. 15 August 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  15. ↑ "India Sports Awards: Lalita Babar named Sports Person of the Year". The Indian Express. 22 February 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  16. ↑ "Lalita Babar named Sportsperson of the Year in India Sports Awards". The Times of India. 22 February 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2016.

External links


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