Rupal Chaudhary becomes first Indian to win twin medals at World U-20 Athletics

• Image Credit: Internet

• Aug 5, 2022 | Dhupali Das

Rupal finished third in 51.85 seconds, behind Yemi Mary John (51.50) of the United Kingdom and Damaris Mutunga (51.71) of Kenya...

Digital Desk: Rupal Chaudhary made history by becoming the first Indian athlete to win two medals at the World U20 Athletics Championship, after winning silver in the 4x400m relay and bronze in the women's 400m.

The 17-year-old, who comes from a low-income family and whose father is a part-time farmer in the Meerut region of Uttar Pradesh's Shahpur Jainpur village, has been in exceptional form, running as many as four 400-meter races in only three days.

Rupal finished third in 51.85 seconds, behind Yemi Mary John (51.50) of the United Kingdom and Damaris Mutunga (51.71) of Kenya on Thursday night. On Tuesday, she won silver as part of the 4x400m relay quartet that finished second behind the USA in 3:17.76s, an Asian junior record.

She competed in her individual 400-meter first-round heat on the same day before competing in the Wednesday semifinals and Thursday final. She twice beat her personal best throughout the championships, first with a time of 52.27 seconds in the semifinals and then again in the final.

Earlier this year, during the National U-20 Federation Cup Athletics Championships, held on Friday, Rupal shocked pre-race favourite Priya Mohan of Karnataka to win the gold medal in the women's 400m. After Hima Das earned a historic gold in the women's 400-meter finals in Finland in 2018, with a time of 51.46s, Rupal became the second Indian to have won a medal in the event.

Neeraj Chopra, an Olympic winner in the javelin throw, became the first Indian to take home a gold medal at the 2016 championships in Poland.

Rupal’s bronze is India’s ninth medal overall from the championships, which was earlier known as World Junior Championships. India earned three medals—two silver and one bronze—at the last event, held in Nairobi in 2021.