India's ace racewalker Ram Baboo undeterred by move to 20km category for Paris 2024 Olympics: "In 20km, if you are fit, you will do well"
Ram Baboo isn't among India's well-known sportspersons. However, that might change later this year as he will represent India at the Paris 2024 Olympics in the 20km racewalking event.
Baboo wouldn't be the only Indian though in that event. In fact, as many as seven Indian racewalkers have made the cut for the Paris Olympics. So, the 25-year-old will be vying for medals with his compatriots too.
However, 20km isn't the category Baboo would have preferred. He won the bronze medal in the 35km mixed team category with Manju Rani at the Asian Games last year. But that category isn't part of the Paris Games. So, Baboo had to shift to the 20km division.
"I didn’t want to come down to 20km (and) wanted to remain stable in 35km. But the race walk curriculum has had a lot of changes," Ram Baboo told PTI in an interview.
Baboo has had to make a move from one distance to another for the third time in his career. He used to be a 20km racewalker until 2019, but then shifted to 50km. However, that distance was removed from the Olympics roster. He competed in the 35km mixed team event at the Hangzhou Asian Games. Now, that category is also absent from the Paris Olympics.
So, he is back to 20km. Yet, he is undeterred and looking at the positive side of the story.
"In team events, it becomes tough because the result depends on your team. In 20k it is simple, if you are fit you will do well,” he reflected. “Plus, 25 teams will qualify for the relay event but 20km is an individual event and three athletes per country can compete."
He then explained how the experience of 35km racewalking can actually come in handy for the shorter distance.
"The 20km race goes faster as compared to 35km. Having shifted from 35km to 20km, my 35km training has helped... While preparing for 35km, I had to do a lot of endurance training - endurance plus speed. In 20km, it becomes shorter and we have to do speed plus short endurance."
The inspirational story of Ram Baboo
Getting this far in his sports career is a massive achievement for Ram Baboo, all the more so because of his tough life. Born to a daily-wage employee, the athlete from Uttar Pradesh worked with his father as a laborer under MGNREGA. He had to somehow finance his training in his early years.
His initial career saw him participating in distance running, before a piece of advice from his coach saw Baboo shift to race walking.
His personal best at the 20km distance is 1:20:00. The cut-off for Olympic qualification is 1:20:10. It was at the Dudinska 50 Meet in Slovakia that Ram Baboo achieved his PB timing and made the cut for Paris. He also won bronze and, in the process, became the first Indian to do so at that event.