Hyderabad: Winning a medal at the Commonwealth Games and having one's name mentioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during 'Mann ki Baat' can be overwhelming at times. And one may lose the sense of self to plaudits and accolades that the world offers after a podium finish at the Commonwealth extravaganza.
But for race walk CWG silver medallist, Priyanka Goswami, she seems as serene as anyone, with neither over-the-moon celebratory look of being a Commonwealth champion nor pondering about her difficult past when she takes the microphone for an interview with ETV Bharat.
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Her father, Madan Goswami, was a bus conductor in UP roadways and she never really had the access to the best resources in Meerut. Her coach, Gumeet Singh, recalls how the athlete would eat at 'langar' in a Gurdwara while staying outside the camp in Patiala.
Adversities never really stopped Priyanka from achieving what she had in her mind. Come Commonwealth Games, 2022, she would win silver medal for India in race walk, a sport never seen by the country had the people glued as snaps and photo-ops of the athletes flashed across Indian television sets.
She became the first Indian woman to win a medal in race walk at the Commonwealth Games, shattering a three-year-old national record to clinch the silver medal in the women's 10,000m race walk as the crowd at the Alexander Stadium lustily clapped at the athlete's achievement.
But Priyanka is happy that the sport has got it's due recognition and opens up on how/when she started taking the sport seriously.
Excerpts:
Q. Do you think race walk final got recognition after you clinched silver at the CWG 2022?
A. Nobody knew about it before and now that I have won the medal, the sport will get its due recognition. Even now, more and more people are recognizing it.
Q. Did you ever feel the pressure that you are the first woman to have won the medal in the sport?
A. I have never felt the pressure because my aim was to get the timing right. I wasn't particularly thinking about the medal. I just had to get the timing right and winning a medal largely depends on that.
Q. How race walk happened in your life?
A. This sport is played at district levels and they used to distribute prizes for it. I had participated but never won medals and wished if could win one. There was this time when there were four girls who were participating and I thought to myself that I should be able to beat at least one of the contenders. And I won and secured third position for which I won a bag. It made me so happy. I kept playing from then and never really stopped.
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Q. Do you see the sport growing in India now even if it's happening at a slow pace?
A. The entire country is supporting the game. Our Prime Minister also has been very supportive and encouraging and all of this has been reflected in the number of medals we are winning these days.
Q. What more can be done to make the sport popular and athletes in India wanting to take up the sport?
A. It's just about continuing with the hard work. And the more medals we win, the more people would want to play the sport more. It's just about doing the hard work and nothing else.
Q. Has the life changed for you post CWG?
A. My life has changed a lot after Commonwealth Games. I am getting a lot of support and the women's team of our state has also been getting support from the Centre. Things have certainly changed for good.
