Harmilan Kaur Bains felt like a weight had lifted off her shoulders when she broke the two-decade old national record in the 1,500 metres at the 60th National Open Athletics Championships in Warangal. Harmilan poses with her gold medal as her father Amandeep, a former 1500 metre athlete, clicks a selfie. Shedding weight, focusing on intense speed workouts and improving biomechanics has helped, coach Saini says. The hard work paid off when she rewrote the national record which also helped her bounce back from the disappointment of not qualifying for the Tokyo Games. I lost two years.”Having a national record in her name has now eased the pain of a difficult past.

Source: Indian Express September 16, 2021 18:45 UTC