India’s Bapi Hansda won silver in the 400-meter hurdles event on May 1, 2023, at the 5th Youth Asian Athletics Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Hansda, who also set a personal best with his time of 51.40 seconds, defeated Kuda Liyanage Ayomal of Sri Lanka to win the bronze medal. Mahamat Abakar Abdulrahman of Qatar won the gold medal with a time of 50.91 seconds.
Bapi Hansda is a member of the Odisha Reliance Foundation Athletics High-Performance Centre and is from the coastal community of Basta in the northernmost region of Odisha. With a time of 51.90 seconds, Hansda won the gold medal at the 18th National Youth Championship. With this accomplishment, he not only qualified for the Asian Youth Athletics Championship but also shot to the top of the under-18 age group.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik complimented Hansda on his most recent accomplishment and said that he is an inspiration to all athletes. The Chief Minister added that Hansda was successful despite having to overcome several obstacles in his personal life. Hansda, his instructors, and the entire staff at the Odisha Reliance Foundation HPC received Patnaik’s warmest wishes in addition.
Martin Owens, the head coach of the Odisha Reliance HPC, was pleased with the way Hansda performed in Tashkent. Owens praised Hansda for his valiant attempt because he was given lane 8, which he found difficult. Despite being anxious before the race, Hansda did well and finished well. The Head Coach is upbeat about Hansda’s potential for the future and has plans to get him ready for the August Commonwealth Championships.
The Odisha Government and Reliance Foundation worked together to create the Odisha Reliance Foundation Athletics High-Performance Centre. The goal of the center is to guarantee that the athletic potential in India and Odisha has access to the greatest facilities, coaching staff, gear, sports medicine, and rehabilitative care required to perform at the top levels. Since 2019, the center has trained more than 50 athletes in a variety of athletic disciplines, and its athletes have taken home numerous national and international awards.
The center has trained more than 50 athletes in a variety of athletic disciplines since it opened in 2019 and has amassed numerous medals at both the national and international levels. The accomplishment of Bapi is a big deal for the center and shows how well the young athletes in the program are trained and supported.
Young athletes in Odisha might draw motivation from Bapi’s accomplishments in Tashkent by looking at him as an illustration of what can be accomplished through perseverance and hard work. Naveen Patnaik, the chief minister of Odisha, commended Bapi’s accomplishment and underlined his role model status for other athletes.
The success of Bapi is evidence of the value of the Odisha Reliance Foundation Athletics High-Performance Centre, a joint venture between the state of Odisha and the Reliance Foundation. With the help of the center, India and Odisha’s top athletes will have access to the facilities, coaching staff, gear, sports medicine, and rehabilitation services they need to succeed at the highest levels.
