Hit-and-run victim Taranjeet finds calm as runaway winner
NEW DELHI: When Taranjeet Kaur was asked to pose on the track after winning the 100m race at the Under-23 National Championships, she asked the other medallists, who had moved away, to join her.
For an athlete who knows all about life’s unexpected turns, the gesture was not unexpected. It was outside the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium that Kaur was hit by a speeding car which left her bedridden with a bruised back and a broken collar bone. Forget winning races, Kaur never thought she would return to the track. Three years later, the amphitheatre was the venue for her biggest day as a sprinter.
On Tuesday, the 19-year-old blazed past the field in 11.54secs, way faster than T Daneshwari of Karnataka who took silver in 11.66 secs. Kaur’s winning spree this season started in the Delhi State Championships last January and she has not looked back since. Same month she did a sprint double (100m:11.70s, 200m:24.11) at the Junior Federation Cup (U20) in Bhopal. Her first big mark in the senior circuit came at the National Open Championships in Warangal this month when Kaur won the 100m in 11.50sec and was second in 200m (23.64sec). Kaur is now eyeing Dutee Chand’s 100m record of 11.17s. “That is my first target. I was hoping for a better timing today. But I am happy to win here at this venue. It has been a long road to recovery after that accident. I never thought I could race again,” she said. On August 13, 2018, Kaur had to train at the JLN Stadium because Chhatrasal Stadium, her
usual base, was closed due to preparations for Independence Day.
Kaur was negotiating a bend on her two-wheeler when a car hit her from the side. Coaches from JLN Stadium rushed her to the trauma centre at All India Institute of Medical Sciences. “I was conscious but I don’t remember much. I was saved because I was wearing a helmet. It was a hit-and-run case and the boys in the car seemed drunk,” she said.
Kaur’s collar bone was not set properly the first time making her recovery longer and more painful. In bed for two months, she was dependent on mother Kulwinder Kaur, a former statelevel athlete, for everything. “You don’t like to be so dependent. I used to cry so much. Getting up from the bed even slightly was painful,” said Kaur. “I was shattered mentally. Even walking was difficult. My mother and coach told me that I can fight
back. There were teammates who stood behind me.”
Encouragement also came from double Olympic medallist wrestler Sushil Kumar at Chhatrasal. “He told me to make a new beginning from here. If you can win over your mind, you will be able to run again,” said Kaur.
Slowly she began cycling and then returned to the track. “I saw kids were running faster than me and I just started crying at the Chhatrasal Stadium,” said Kaur. Kaur had started training at Chhatrasal Stadium in 2017 under former international medallist Sunita Rani. This was after Kulwinder, seeing her 14-yearold at an overweight 75kg, introduced her to athletics. For the next two years, Kaur worked on her fitness and by the time she was 16, she was running in national school meets. Just when things were beginning to look up, the accident happened.
At the school national championship in 2019, Kaur made a fresh start by winning silver in 100m. “The timing was better than my previous one of 12.32. That gave me a lot of confidence,” she said. “She is mentally very strong or else she would not have been able to come back. She has good power and speed. She needs to improve her starts though,” said Rani. “She is among the top sprinters now and she believes she can have a crack at Dutee Chand’s national record.”
The long lay-off was unexpected but the family’s financial struggles were a constant. “She would not come for days and then I had to call her home and ask her parents to send her. She is a real talent. Her mother, being an athlete herself, understands but they have been going through tough times,” said Rani.
“My father was sick so he had to leave his job. My mother also had an operation recently and I was spending so much time in hospital. We have leased a portion of our house and that is how we are managing” says Kaur. “My mother once sold her gold medal when I needed some money for training. She had won medals at state level but had to leave because family did not want her to continue with the sport. She wants me to do it now.” Kaur is doing that and will be joining the India camp soon.
Sherin wins in long jump
At the U-23 National Championships, Sherin Abdul Gaffoor of Tamil Nadu leaped a personal best 6.45m in her last attempt of the long jump event. Sherin got good competition from Sandra Babu (6.29m) and Pooja Saini (6.22m). In men’s javelin, Rohit Yadav of Uttar Pradesh won with a throw of 72.42m.