Sepoy Basanta Bahadur Rana (born 18 January 1984 in Chamkipur, Nawalparasi District, Nepal[1]) is an Indian athlete who competes in racewalking.[2] He represented India in the 50 km race walk event at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. His personal best in this event before the Games was 4:02:13 and he bettered it by clocking a time of 3:56:48, a new national record.
 Basanta Bahadur Rana in 2013 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Indian |
| Born | 18 January 1984 Chamkipur, Nawalparasi, Nepal |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  India |
| Service/ |  Indian Army |
| Rank | Subedar |
| Unit | Gorkha Rifles |
| Sport | |
| Country | India |
| Sport | Track and field |
| Event | 50 km walk |
| Club | Services Sport Control Board, Delhi |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal bests | 3:56:48 (London 2012) NR |
| Updated on 11 August 2012. | |
2012 Summer Olympics edit
Basanta qualified for the Olympics at the 2012 IAAF World Race Walking Cup in Saransk, Russia in May 2012, with a B qualifying standard. He was trained by the former national record holder Gurdev Singh. In the 1960 Olympics at Rome, Zora Singh was 8th clocking 4:37:44.6s.[citation needed]
Basanta finished 36th in the event by setting a new national record of 3:56:48. By setting this record, Basanta broke the previous national record of 4:16:22 clocked by his mentor Gurdev Singh who had set it in Hyderabad in 2005.[3]
Personal life edit
Basanta is from a hamlet, located 12 hours north of Kathmandu, Nepal.[4] He joined the Indian army in 2002 and is currently serving at the Gorkha Regiment. Basanta is supported by Anglian Medal Hunt Company.[5]
References edit
- ^ Sports-Reference profile
- ^ IAAF Profile
- ^ Shreedutta Chidananda (8 July 2012). "FEATURES / SUNDAY MAGAZINE : The loneliness of the long-distance walkers". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
- ^ "Basanta Bahadur Rana Olympics 2012 Player Profile, News, Medals - Times of India". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Archived from the original on 3 August 2012.
- ^ "An introduction to Indian long distance walkers". The Hindu. 8 July 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
