In the race of life, what is necessary to surge ahead is arduous efforts, formidable willpower and above all insuperable perseverance and it was the outstanding runner Kavita Raut who emerged to be an excellent example of these positive attributes.
Appearances can be deceiving - this proverb appropriately describes Kavita Raut, India's leading long distance runner. There are many athletes who had been running many miles to school every day, before their talent was recognized. Reserved and petite, this 26-year-old Indian girl is one of them. Her hamlet near Nasik is low on many things including water. As a child, apparently, Kavita ran a couple of kilometers every day just to fetch water.
Born on 5th May 1985, Kavita Raut belongs to a tribal family in Sawarpada, at a remote village near Harsul, Nasik in Maharashtra.Forced by circumstances, Kavita, who would at times run even without proper shoes, won a bronze medal in the 10000 meters race at the Commonwealth Games, held in October, 2010 at New Delhi. After a long period of 50 years, India secured an individual track medal, thanks to her, who proved to be the first woman athlete of India to win this medal. Kavita also won the silver and bronze medals in the 18th Asian Athletic Champion Competition held in China.
It has been a difficult journey for this long distance runner, who started serious athletics nine years ago. Even while fighting against extreme adversities in the absence of adequate equipments, Kavita started her running journey on the racing tracks of athletics and achieved a new feat. For Kavita, the long as well as winding road from Sawarpada to New Delhi, via Nasik, has been paved with challenges as well as heartaches.
But there was a sweet reward at the end of Kavita's arduous efforts, as she won in Commonwealth Games and gave Indian sports a rare shot in the arm. Her journey from Indian Inter-State to Commonwealth Track as well as Field Championships to Asian Games was phenomenal.
Today, the highest performance of running in a 10 km race, in India, is recorded after Kavita's name. Revered as "Sawarpada Express, Kavita is now poised for a medal in the next Olympic Games.
