India race-walker Priyanka Goswami hopes for a high at CWG, worlds

"It seems like a perfect location for training before the big events and my only option is to enjoy the odds,” Goswami says. “For the last one week, I have noticed an improvement in my speed and I hope this will help me finish on the podium, both at the CWG (July 28-August 8, Birmingham) and the world championships (July 15-24, Oregon, USA)."

“The greenery surrounding our walking area is so beautiful; it has encouraged me to enjoy walking. I wake up with a new mission every morning and do my best throughout the day even though (less) oxygen at this high-altitude location isn’t easy for us,” said Goswami. Cholpon-Ata is at an altitude of 1,633m (5,359ft).

Goswami is training under former Russian race-walker, Tatiana Sibilena, who finished 11th in the 20km event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. “She is new to me, but I am enjoying her company here,” she said.

India’s fastest female race-walker in the 20km event, Goswami finished 17th at last year’s Tokyo Olympics. She also came 17th at the Gran Premio Cantones de La Coruna, the Spanish leg of the World Athletics Challenge-Race-Walking in May.

“This number 17 makes me mad now. My friends make fun of this number,” said Goswami, who did shake off that number, finishing 10th in the 10km race in Madrid, also in May.

“That was quite encouraging, I am working hard on my speed to improve my personal best of 1:28.45 in 20km. It’s not at all tough. If I could achieve that, I can better that too,” she said. A medal should be within Goswami’s reach if she maintains her form. The CWG record stands at 1:36:34. At the 2018 Gold Coast Games, India’s Kushbhir Kaur finished fourth, clocking 1:39:21. In humidity at the Tokyo Games, Goswami finished at 1:32.36.

Goswami, 26, though took up race-walking by accident.

“Things happen in everyone’s life and you can’t control them. Race-walking was my destiny as I was a gymnast and even spent 5-6 months in Lucknow's gymnastics hostel,” said Goswami.

“I was always enthusiastic about trying new things and participating in extracurricular activities. So, without knowing what gymnastics is, I raised my hand at the school assembly when the gymnastics coach asked the kids,” she recalled. “I didn’t like the (balancing) beam as I was scared of it. I didn’t want to continue so I left the sports hostel after five-six months to return home,” said Goswami.

At last year’s national championships in Ranchi, she missed the Tokyo Olympic qualifying time by 34 seconds, but having overcome the disruption caused by the pandemic, she returned to competition later and achieved the mark with a national record. She clocked 1:28:45, shaving more than a minute of the national record of 1:29:54 that was held by Bhawna Jat to win gold.

“That was something encouraging and only after getting a ticket to Tokyo did I realise that my decision to switch sport was correct and that I should not regret leaving gymnastics.”