Sudha Singh (born 25 June 1986) is an Indian Olympic athlete 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 ...

event. A national record holder in the event, she has represented India at international events since 2005. Singh is an Asian Champion in the discipline and has won two gold and four silver medals at varying editions of 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 the continental championships. Singh's breakthrough came at the

2010 Asian Games The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), was a regional multi-sport event celebrated from November 12 to November 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, although several events ...

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

, where she won the gold medal in steeplechase. She has since won a gold at the

2017 Asian Athletics Championships The 2017 Asian Athletics Championships was the 22nd edition of the Asian Athletics Championships. It was held from 6 to 9 July 2017 at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, India. Bhubaneswar was the third Indian city to host Asian Championships. ...

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango trees (''ekamra'')). Bhubaneswar is ...

and a silver 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 Asia, continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 A ...

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and has represented India at two consecutive

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

and

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

. Singh was conferred with India's second highest sporting honour, the

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 ...

in 2012.She was awarded India's fourth highest civilian award the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

in 2021.

Career

Singh's breakthrough performance came in the

Guangzhou, China Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kong ...

when she won the gold medal with a time of 9:55.67; she became the first Asian Champion in the discipline as it was the first instance of the 3000 meters steeplechase at the

. In June 2012, Singh qualified for Olympic Games 2012 after she broke her own 3,000m steeplechase national record with a timing of 9:47.70 secs. At the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, Singh finished 13th in her steeplechase heat and did not qualify for the finals. In the 2014 Asian Games held in Incheon, South Korea, Sudha finished fourth, one place behind Lalita Babar who not only won the bronze medal in the 3000m steeplechase event but also broke Sudha's national record, clocking 9:35.37 in the process. However, the gold medallist Ruth Jebet from Bahrain was disqualified on account of stepping inside the track before crossing the line, and Singh was promoted and won the bronze medal. In August 2015, Sudha Singh sealed her spot in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil with a 19th-place finish in the women's marathon event, one place behind O.P.Jaisha in Beijing. Singh finished just behind Jaisha at 19th with a time of 2:35:35. Maharashtra's

Lalita Babar Lalita Babar (born 2 June 1989) is an Indian long-distance runner. She was born in a small village in the Satara district, Maharashtra. She predominantly competes in the 3000 metres steeplechase and is the current List of Indian records in athl ...

finished the 3000 meters steeplechase in 9:27.09 to win the gold and set the national record while Sudha, representing Uttar Pradesh, came up with a timing of 9:31.86 and bettered the Rio Games qualification standard of 9:45.00 on the second and penultimate day of the Federation Cup National Athletics Championships in Delhi. Singh bettered the national Record in May 2016, at the

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(IAAF)

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...

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. At the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

Singh took ill after competing and returned to India, where she was diagnosed with swine flu and ruled out from competition for the rest of the season.Rio Olympian Sudha Singh tested positive for Swine Flu, not Zika
DNA India (2016-08-23). Retrieved on 2016-08-24. Singh participated in the

, having trained under her new coaches Lalit Bhanot and Renu Kolhi. She won the silver medal in the 3000 meters steeplechase with a time of 9:40.04 minutes. Singh told ''The Quint'' that she was dropped from the team owing to her age, but was happy that she could come up with a medal under the tutelage of her new support staff. She said: "I am very happy that I won the medal despite everyone telling me that I'm too old to compete at the International circuit ..My critics have motivated me to do better."

Awards and honours

Following her gold medal at the

, Singh was awarded the Manyawar Shri Kanshiram Ji International Sports Award by

Government of Uttar Pradesh The Government of Uttar Pradesh (ISO: Uttar Pradesh Sarkār; often abbreviated as GoUP) is the subnational government of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh with the governor as its appointed constitutional head of the state by the President of I ...

. Singh was subsequently conferred with the

(India's second highest sporting honour) by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

in 2012.

International competitions

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Sudha 1986 births Living people Asian Games gold medalists for India Asian Games silver medalists for India Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports Recipients of the Arjuna Award Indian female long-distance runners 21st-century Indian women 21st-century Indian people Indian female steeplechase runners Olympic athletes of India Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games competitors for India Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Asian Games World Athletics Championships athletes for India Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games Medalists at the 2018 Asian Games Athletes from Uttar Pradesh Sportswomen from Uttar Pradesh People from Raebareli