Saritaben Laxmanbhai Gayakwad (born 1 June 1994) is an Indian sprinter who specializes in the 400 metres and

400 metres hurdles The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Olympic athletics programme since 1900 for men and since 1984 for women. On a standard outdoor track, 400 metres is the length of the inside lane, once ...

. She was part of the Indian women's 4 × 400 metres relay team that won the gold medal at the

2018 Asian Games The 2018 Asian Games ( id, Pesta Olahraga Asia 2018 or ''Asian Games 2018''), officially known as the 18th Asian Games and also known as Jakarta-Palembang 2018 or Indonesia 2018, was a continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 Augus ...

. Gujarat Govt. has selected her as a brand ambassador of Gujarat State Poshan Abhiyan.

Early life

Gayakwad was born on 1 June 1994 in a tribal family in Kharadi Amba village, Dang District,

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

. She represented her state in national level

kho kho Kho kho or kho-kho is a traditional Indian sport that dates back to ancient India. It is the second most popular traditional tag game in the Indian subcontinent after kabaddi. Kho kho is played on a rectangular court with a central lane connec ...

competitions till 2010, before making the switch to sprinting. As of 2018, she works as an income tax official.

Career

Gayakwad was selected in the Indian women's 4 × 400 metres relay team for the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia. She thus became the first

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

athlete from the state to be selected for the Commonwealth Games. The team came seventh in the final with a timing of 3:33.61. She was then selected for the

in the women's 4 × 400 metres relay team. The quartet of Gayakwad, M. R. Poovamma,

Hima Das Hima Das (born 9 January 2000), nicknamed ''Dhing Express'', is an Indian sprinter from the state of Assam. She holds the current Indian national record in 400 meters with a timing of 50.79 s that she clocked at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta ...

and V. K. Vismaya clocked 3:28.72 in the final to clinch the gold medal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gayakwad, Sarita 1994 births Living people Athletes from Gujarat People from Dang district, India Indian female sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Asian Games gold medalists for India Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Medalists at the 2018 Asian Games Commonwealth Games competitors for India Sportswomen from Gujarat