Lalita Babar (born 2 June 1989) is an Indian

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...

. She was born in a small village in the Satara district,

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

. She predominantly competes in the

3000 metres steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase in track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, a ...

and is the current Indian national record holder and the reigning Asian Champion in the same event. Babar was named as the Sports Person of the Year in the India Sports Awards 2015 organised by

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) is a Non-governmental organization, non-governmental trade association and advocacy group based in India. History Established in 1927, on the advice of Mahatma Gandhi by Ind ...

(FICCI) and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports of India.

Early life and junior career

Babar was born on 2 June 1989 in Mohi, a village in Satara district, in the Indian State of

into a family of farmers. She was born in an area which was regularly affected by

drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

s, which adversely affects the agriculture in the area. Babar started her career in athletics as a long-distance runner at a young age. She won her first Gold medal in the U-20 National Championships at

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

in 2005.

Career

Babar began her career in track and field athletics as a long-distance runner. In 2014, she became the hat-trick winner of the

Mumbai Marathon The Mumbai Marathon (known as the Tata Mumbai Marathon for sponsorship reasons by Tata Group), is an annual international marathon held in Mumbai, India, on the third Sunday of January every year. It is the largest marathon in Asia as well as th ...

. Determined to win a medal in multi-discipline events like the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

and

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

, she switched to 3000 metres steeplechase in January 2014, following her win at the marathon. At the

2014 Asian Games The 2014 Asian Games ( ko, 2014년 아시아 경기대회/2014년 아시안 게임, Icheon sip-sa nyeon Asia gyeonggi daehoe/Icheon sip-sa nyeon Asian Geim), officially known as the 17th Asian Games ( ko, 제17회 아시아 경기대회/제17회 ...

Incheon Incheon (; ; or Inch'ŏn; literally "kind river"), formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City (인천광역시, 仁川廣域市), is a city located in northwestern South Kore ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

, she won the bronze medal clocking 9:35.37 in the final. In the process, she broke the national record held by

Sudha Singh Sudha Singh (born 25 June 1986) is an Indian Olympic athlete in the 3000 metres steeplechase event. A national record holder in the event, she has represented India at international events since 2005. Singh is an Asian Champion in the discipli ...

. At the 2015 Asian Championships, Babar won the gold medal clocking 9:34.13 and broke her own personal record, the Indian national record and the games record. In the process, she qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics. She also qualified for 2016 Summer Olympic in Marathon with her personal best of 2:38:21 at Mumbai Marathon 2015. She went on to break the record again at the 2015 World Championships in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

with a time of 9:27.86 in her qualifying heat. Being the first Indian woman to qualify for the steeplechase final, she placed eighth in the final. In April 2016, she again bettered the national record with a time of 9:27.09 at the Federation Cup National Athletics Championships in New Delhi. At the Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics, she bettered it with a time of 9:19.76 in her heat, qualifying to the final, and in the process became the first Indian in 32 years to enter a final in any track event. At the final, she finished 10th with a time of 9:22.74.

Public servant

According to a news story dated 2020-11-28, Babar has been appointed as tahasildar of Mangaon a

taluka A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

in Raigad district of Maharashtra, from the sports quota.

Competition record

Awards

Sports Person of the Year Awards (2015),

FICCI The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group based in India. History Established in 1927, on the advice of Mahatma Gandhi by Indian businessman G.D. Birla and ...

and Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports India Sports Awards (2015), by FICCI and Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports

Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, one ...

, by Government of India

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Babar, Lalita 1989 births Living people Sportswomen from Maharashtra Indian female steeplechase runners Indian female marathon runners Indian female long-distance runners 21st-century Indian women 21st-century Indian people Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Asian Games Commonwealth Games competitors for India Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games World Athletics Championships athletes for India Asian Games bronze medalists for India Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of India People from Satara district Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games Athletes from Maharashtra Recipients of the Arjuna Award