"Uttar Pradesh govt made excellent arrangements for Khelo India University Games": 20km race-walk gold medallist Poonam

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], June 1 : Poonam Kumawat, representing Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Rajasthan won the gold medal in the women's 20 km race walk event at the inaugural Khelo India University Games 2022 Uttar Pradesh. She has become an admirer of the arrangements made for these games in the capital city of Lucknow.

Poonam, a student of M.A. Final Year at Mohanlal Sukhadia University, completed the 20 km race on the track of Guru Govind Singh Sports College in 1 hour, 44 minutes, and 1.63 seconds. Payal from Punjab University secured the second position with a time of 1 hour, 45 minutes, and 23.38 seconds. Participating in the Khelo India University Games for the first time, Poonam said, "The Uttar Pradesh government has made some excellent arrangements for the players. Every athlete is happy with them. This is my first University Games, and I am delighted to be here."

Poonam, a resident of Bhilwara in Rajasthan, currently practices in Jaipur. Expressing her dissatisfaction with her performance, she said, "My performance was slow. I could not achieve the timing as per my training. The timing that I was aiming for deteriorated right from the beginning, and I failed to recover from it."

The national record in the 20 km race walk is held by Priyanka Goswami, who set the record during the National Race Walking Championship in 2021 with a time of 1 hour, 28 minutes, and 45 seconds. When asked about her goal of reaching that time, Poonam said, "I have to work harder to reach that level. I am putting in the effort."

Poonam said, "I mainly belong from Bhilwara district. My father is a government lab technician and also does farming. I am the only member of my family who is involved in sports. I have been passionate about race walking since my school days. I could not participate in athletics during my Bachelor's degree. Then, I came to Jaipur and started practicing."

Poonam mentioned that winning the medal in the race walk was a big achievement for her. She said, "I took part in several race walking championships earlier, but never won a medal. I also took part in the All India West Zone University Games, where my timing was 1 hour 44 minutes. My personal best is 1 hour 41 minutes."

Poonam stated that she is aiming to participate in the Inter-University Championship, which will be held in Bhubaneswar from June 17. Poonam said, "I have to participate in Bhubaneswar and, as far as my aim is concerned, I want to represent India at the Khelo India University Games 2022 started from May 25 and will go on till June 3.