Pauri Garhwal, 4 March 2024: Suraj of Pauri is the second player in the walk race discipline who will play in the Olympics. Earlier, Manish Rawat of Chamoli had secured 13th position in Olympics 2016.
Young athletics Suraj Panwar, who practiced walk race at the district headquarters, has qualified for the Olympics. Now Suraj will represent the state in the Olympic Games to be held in Paris in July. This is the first time that a young walker athlete from the hill district of the state will play in the Olympics.
Suraj Panwar practiced intensively for the Goa National Championship last January from the National Stadium Ransi in Pauri. Now Suraj is aiming to win gold for the country in the Olympic Games. Coach and District Sports Officer Anoop Bisht said that Suraj qualified for the Olympics in the National Championship held in Chandigarh on January 28. Suraj covered a distance of 20 km in 1 hour 19 minutes 38 seconds. The time set for the Olympics was 1 hour 20 minutes and 20 seconds.
Took part in five international championships, won two
Walkers Under-18 Suraj Panwar participated in the 2017 Asian Athletic Championships held in Thailand. Got second place in the championship at the same place in 2018. Then in 2018, Argentina again got second place in the Youth Olympic Games. Participated in the Senior World Athletic Team Championships and World Grand Prix in Muscat, Oman and Spain in 2022.
