Paris 2024 Olympics: What is Paramjeet Singh Bisht's personal best in 20km race walk?
Paramjeet Singh Bisht will vie for a medal in the men's 20km race walk event for India at the Paris Olympics 2024. The sport will kickstart the athletics proceedings in the Games.
Bisht's personal best performance helped him to qualify for the Olympics. He recorded a timing of 1:20:08 in the Asian Race Walking Championships 2023 and breached the Paris qualification mark of 1:20:10. He along with the other two athletes, Akshdeep Singh and Vikash Singh, achieved direct qualification to participate in the men's 20km race walk event.
Before this event, the 22-year-old had finished fourth in the Indian Race Walking Championships 2023 with a timing of 1:21:59. After failing to secure a podium finish, Paramjeet Singh Bisht could not get a ticket to the Asian Games.
Currently, Bisht is serving the Indian Army (Navy) from the sports quota. He became the second player from the Chamoli district to qualify for the Olympics. Previously, Manish Rawat participated in the men's 20 km race walk event at the Rio Olympics 2016, where he finished 16th with a timing of 1:21:21.
All the race walkers, including Bisht, had been training at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) center in Bengaluru ahead of the Paris Olympics.
Recent performances of Paramjeet Singh Bisht
The talented athlete has participated in a total of four events in 2024 which include 10km race walk, 20km race walk, and Marathon Race Walk Mixed Relay.
In January, Paramjeet Singh Bisht represented the country in the 10km race walk event in the South Asian & Indian Race Walking Championships. He finished second with a timing of 39:36. In the same competition, Bisht finished ninth in the 20km race walk event with a timing of 1:22:08.
The World Athletics Race Walking Tour in Slovakia witnessed him finish seventh with a timing of 1:22:10 in the 20km race walk event.
In April, Bisht participated in the mixed event with Munita Prajapati at the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships in Antalya. The pair finished 35th with a timing of 3:09:58.