Daughter of daily wage earners broke all shackles and rose to great heights. A classic example of how with sheer dedication and hard work, anything is possible. She is the first woman athlete from Gujarat to win an Asian gold medal for India. Sarita Gayakwad is truly an inspiration and her life story sure needs to be celebrated.
There were days when she ran barefoot because she didn’t have money even to buy shoes. There were days when she lived in a thatched hut when she couldn’t even get her mother a pressure cooker. But she did not let any of that deter her from her goal. She fought every obstacle to emerge triumphant. Let’s explore her inspiring tale…
Details | |
Full Name | Saritaben Laxmanbhai Gayakwad |
Age | 26 years (as of 2020) |
Sport Category | Track and Field |
Event | 400 metres and 400 metres hurdles |
Date of Birth | 1 June 1994 |
Hometown | Amba, Gujarat, India |
Height | 168 cm |
Weight | 58 kg |
Coach | KS Ajimon |
Sarita Gayakwad Biography
Early Life
Sarita Gayakwad was born and brought up in a tribal village of Kharadi Amba in Dang district. Her tryst with sports began in the childhood itself. In an interview, Sarita revealed how she would get inspired by watching the likes of Sania Mirza and others on DD sports channel at her uncle’s place. “I wanted to be like them, I wanted to wear India’s T-shirt and make my country proud,” she said.
However, her family faced a lot of financial problems, and it wasn’t easy for them to sponsor sports equipment for Sarita. For many years they stayed in a thatched hut.
Initially, Sarita played kho kho as well and represented Gujarat state 17 times in national level competitions. After initial success in track and field as well as kho kho, she had to make a choice in order to give utmost focus to one game.
She was selected in a talent hunt program in 2012, which gave a big boost to her career. There she first won 400m running and 4x 400m relay.
Sarita was first noticed by athletics coach KS Ajimon. He saw a spark in her and wanted to ensure that she got the best training to hone her skills. Sarita started training at Nadiad’s Center of Excellence. Her coaches at Nadiad and Patiala played a huge rule at the beginning of her career.
“I was very impressed when I first saw her in June 2015. She covered 400m in about one minute and I knew she was made for bigger things,” Ajimon was quoted by Asian Age.
Sarita Gayakwad at Commonwealth Games 2018
She established herself as an athlete with superb potential by winning a bronze medal in 2014-2015, silver in 2015-2016, and a gold medal in 2016-2017 in Inter-University National level athletics tournament.
After that, she was included in the Indian training camp at Patiala. She represented India at the Asian Championship in 2017. She also won 2 gold medals at the Asian Games trials.
All this meant that Sarita Gayakwad was in great shape to qualify for the 2018 Commonwealth Games. And qualify she did! In fact, Sarita became the first track and field athlete from Gujarat to qualify for the Commonwealth Games. However, she couldn’t turn her qualification into a medal, finishing seventh in the final.
But the disappointment did set the stage for bigger things.
Asian Games 2018
Sarita Gayakwad turned the failure at the 2018 Commonwealth Games into her strength and put a great performance at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games.
Sarita, along with her teammates – MR Poovamma, Hima Das, and VK Vismaya, won the gold medal with a timing of 3:28.72.
Sarita’s Asian Games gold medal was celebrated with a lot of grandeur in her Karadi Amba village. Along with her own home, the entire village seemed to be celebrating a big festival. Sweets were distributed and firecrackers were burst. Traditional Dangi dance was performed by the village troupe.
“We are very happy and proud that Sarita has won the gold medal. The whole country is celebrating her success,” Sarita’s father Laxmanbhai told DNA India.
Sarita Gaekwad, a tribal athlete from Dang, wins gold medal in women’s 400m relay race in the #AsianGames2018 at Indonesia and makes whole nation proud pic.twitter.com/gmPQQV5zyo
— CMO Gujarat (@CMOGuj) February 14, 2018
Unknown Facts about Sarita Gayakwad
- In the district level competition, Khel Mahakumbh, she won total prize money of ₹ 25,000. It was one of the most ecstatic moments of her life. She realised her true potential as an athlete then.
- Sarita has seen extreme poverty. So much so that her first motivation to take up a career in sports was collecting enough money to buy a pressure cooker for her mother.
- After winning the Asiad gold, Sarita received a lot of love and financial support from various governmental and other organisations. Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani announced a cash prize of ₹ 1 crore.
- Her alma mater Veer Narmad South Gujarat University also declared a cash prize of 2 lakh rupees.
- Sarita has been appointed as the brand ambassador of Gujarat State Poshan Abhiyan.
- Along with her thriving career as an athlete, Sarita is working as an income tax official as well.
Achievements
Asian Games
| Year | Place | Event | Medal |
| 2018 | Jakarta, Indonesia | Women’s 4*400 m | Gold |
Asian Championships
| Year | Place | Event | Medal |
| 2019 | Doha, Qatar | Women’s 4*400 m | Silver |
| 2019 | Doha, Qatar | 400 m hurdles | Bronze |
Social Media
😇😇😇 pic.twitter.com/riPWDdiCcI
— Sarita Gayakwad (@GayakwadSarita) November 17, 2018
#Cherising the moment with our honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sir #Team Gujarat #Team India #Post Asian Games 2018 medal winners💪🏻 pic.twitter.com/p2NuoqidwO
— Sarita Gayakwad (@GayakwadSarita) November 17, 2018
#18th Asian Games Opening cermony Jakarta Indonesia 🇮🇩 pic.twitter.com/Toy9VOYnDq
— Sarita Gayakwad (@GayakwadSarita) August 23, 2018
The youngster is all set to have a dream career as an athlete. There’s no doubt about her talent as well as hard work. She has risen from the clutches of poverty and uplifted her family with her success. Truly an inspiration for everyone, we wish Sarita all the very best for her career.
