Inspired by Amit Khatri’s silver, coach wants to take a crack at Paris Olympics 

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Chandan Singh began his career as a racewalker in 2006 and has participated in many international competitions in his 15-year journey, including two World Championships, but his moment under the spotlight finally came on Saturday. 

It came by virtue of his ward Amit Khatri winning silver in the 10km racewalking event at the World U20 Athletics Championships in Nairobi, Kenya.

Chandan’s relationship with the 18-year-old took root four years ago at the National Institute of Sport (NIS) in Patiala. The 34-year-old, who is an Army Subedar based in Pune, was training at the national camp in Punjab when he spotted a scrawny youngster taking laps around the stadium with keen interest. It was the beginning of a fruitful stint that has blossomed ever since. And with Chandan not having given up on his own racewalking career, it has spurred him on to prepare alongside Amit for the Paris Olympics.

“I’m extremely happy. Amit’s silver has now spurred me to train with him and prepare together for the Paris Olympics in 2024. It is a big motivation,” Chandan told this daily from Pune.

While his own dream of making the Paris Olympics may be lofty and unrealistic, Chandan seems confident about Amit’s chances three years down the line. And there is Neeraj Chopra to take inspiration from. The javelin thrower won the World U20 Athletics Championships in 2016 before going on to achieve a historic gold in Tokyo a couple of weeks ago.

“With Neeraj doing well in Tokyo, there is a lot of excitement and motivation among athletes. I was actually expecting Amit to win gold in his event. But I want to make Amit ready for Paris,” he said.

Chandan’s dedication to train Amit has never wavered over the last four years. In 2019 and 2020, the army man invited Amit to his home at Mukteshwar in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand and made the youngster train at an altitude of approximately 2000 metres for four months on the trot. It has helped Amit build the kind of endurance required to taste success at the world stage. 

“The high altitude training has helped him massively. That kind of training is a necessity for any racewalker,” Chandan added.

At the start of this year, Chandan had to return to his base at the Army Sports Institute in Pune. With the second wave of Covid resulting in stringent lockdowns, Amit’s training might have been affected if not for their unrelenting commitment.

“When this year started, I had to go back to Pune. I sent him home to Rohtak. There was a lockdown. Stadiums were not open anywhere. So I told him to find a quiet stretch in Rohtak where he could mark a distance of 500m and train there. I was monitoring his training on WhatsApp every day. Training could not stop,” the coach was clear.