CALCUTTA (India): India’s Lily Das, who won a bronze in 800m final at the South Asian Games in Pokhara, Nepal, on Saturday, said that she wants to qualify for 2020 Tokyo Games.
The 21-year-old clocked 2:08.97 seconds for her efforts.
“My goal now is to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. There’ll be a couple of competitions at home and abroad. If I can do improve my timings, I’ve a chance to qualify for the Games,” Das told Khelupdates from Pokhara.
The Bengal girl used to practice at the SAI Eastern Centre here, but due to lack of infrastructure she moved to a national camp in Patiala.
She praised coaches Renu Kohli and JS Bhatia for motivating her.
“My trainings at the Patiala camp has been excellent. I’ve got immense support from my coaches. They’ve really worked hard on me,” said Das.
“The bronze at SAG will boost my confidence,” added Das, who broke Jyotirmoyee Sikdar’s 25-year-old record in 1500m at the State Meet last year.
She clocked 4:00:13seconds while Sikdar’s record stood at 4:00:18sec
“That was the best performance so far,” she said of her last year’s achievement.
Bengal women win laurels
Das’s five other team-mates also showed impressive results at the Games, which concluded on Saturday.
Shot putter Ava Khatua, Rakhi Haldar (weightlifting), Suravi Biswas (discus throw), Bhairabi Roy (triple jump) and Himashree Roy (4x100m relay).
Khatua won gold by throwing 15.32meters. It was her first success at the international stage.
“This is my first international medal for the country. It’s a good feeling. But I need to improve my performance. My goal is to represent the country at the Asian Games and Olympics,” said Khatua, who hails from Narayangarh in Midnapore district.
Haldar, who hails from South Bishnupur in Nadia district, emerged as the best in the 64kg division while Biswas came second in discus throw.
Himashree Roy was part of India’s 4x100m team (Chandralekha AN, Archana Suseent and Daneshwari Asho were others) finished with a silver medal in the women’s 4x100m relay race clocking 45.36 seconds.
Bhairabi finished third in triple jump.
