Ever since Neeraj Chopra gave the nation a taste of Gold at the world level, the whole country is eagerly waiting for more stars to emerge out of Track and Field. We have seen many young athletes breaking records across the globe in World and Asian championships.
In the Asian Championship 2023, India won 100+ medals (it’s best ever performance) and Athletics contributed the highest (29) medals. This shows that the future of Indian track and field is bright.
Recently, Sports India Show got a chance to talk to one such bright Indian track and field athlete, Nirmit Dhaiya. The teenage runner competes in mid to long distance races. He talks about his current training regime in the US, his upcoming competitions, the difference between training in India and the US, as well as his future plans and more.
Who is Nirmit Dhaiya? What is he doing in the US?
Hailing from Delhi, Nirmit Dhaiya has been clinching success and earning accolades across multiple regional competitions in the country. In April 2022, he finished 2nd at the 1500m event at Khelo India University Games, Bengaluru with a time of 3:59.04, Last year, Nirmit finished 11th at the 26th National Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships, Birsa Munda Foot Ball Stadium, Morabadi, Ranchi, clocking 3:59.59. He has also taken part in several events in the United States.
1) How long have you been in the US? How did you get to the US to compete?
Nirmit: “I am here since 3 months. I got scholarship from USA.”
2) What are the athletics meet that you’re participating in?
Nirmit: “My next competition is regionals meets, then nationals.”
3) How many tournaments have you taken part in the US?
Nirmit: “I participated in Wilson invitational meet and Washburn rust buster meet. Both are invitational indoor meets. I secured 1mile run 7 position, 5km 2nd, 1km run 2nd. I qualified for indoor nationals that will be in 1st week of March.”
4) Are you also training there full time? Under which coach are you training?
Nirmit: “I am studying here in Cloud College and doing training here with my coach Harry Kitchener.”
5) You have qualified for the Indian Nationals as well? If yes when are you coming to participate in it?
Nirmit: “I am already qualified for Indian nationals. I am coming in India in June to play National inter-state meet.”
6) What is the difference in culture did you see training in the US vs training in India?
Nirmit: “I do learning here everyday. Here everyone takes everything very professional and doing his/her job very sincerely.”
7) Your future plans?
Nirmit: “Me and my coach have our plan to be better in my events in upcoming years”
Nirmit is currently ranked under 1000 in the World Athletics ranking with some stellar runs at the youth level. And he is certain that his training in the US will set him up for more success in the game. He plans to target a place in the national team and win medals for his nation in the coming years.
