From long jump to triple jump and then hammer throwing, Sarita Romit Singh has tried her best to make a mark in athletics with varying degrees of success. While her jumps career was limited to junior nationals where she could not win a medal, Sarita forayed into hammer throw in 2008. Then 19, it was, many believed, too late for her to try a new sport, but Sarita was undaunted. Within a few months, she won a silver medal at the All-India Inter-University for Hindu College.
That medal fuelled her ambition and after getting a job in Western Railway in 2011, her love for hammer throw grew. “It was only after winning a silver medal that I started dreaming of winning a medal for India at the international level and when I got the job in railways, I decided to win an international medal for sure in my career,” said Sarita, 32.
Hailing from Sambhal district in Uttar Pradesh, Sarita secured a fifth-place finish at the 2018 Asian Games. She breached the qualifying mark for this year’s Commonwealth Games and Asian Games at the Federation Cup in Kozhikode recently, throwing the iron ball to a distance of 64.16 metres. A confident Sarita now wants to win medals at both events for her two-and-a-half-year daughter Maahi.
“I could throw hammer to 62.03 metres and finished fifth at the Jakarta Games. It was a big disappointment for me but after having a daughter, I thought to continue. I spent six months at the national camp. It was quite emotional for me when I met my daughter for the first time in six months after returning from the camp,” said Sarita, who won a gold medal at last month’s Indian Open Throws Competition in Patiala with an effort of 61.78 metres.
Sarita, who set the national record with a throw of 65.25 metres during the 2017 Federation Cup by breaking the previous mark of 62.74m recorded by Manju Bala in 2014, feels more confident going into a busy athletics calendar.
“I have learnt from the mistakes that I committed in the Asian Championship and also at Jakarta. Now I am not going to repeat those mistakes. In fact, I wasn’t that experienced then but now things are far better and I am well prepared to make my presence felt in the international circuit,” said Sarita who will be debuting in the Commonwealth Games.
“Ab bus Maahi ke liye hi jitna hai mujhe medals (Now I have to win medals for Maahi),” she said, adding, “I know what it takes to win medals. Winning medals at the CWG and Asian Games is my ultimate dream and I am not leaving any stone unturned to make it come true.”
