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Gujarat's international middle distance runner Laxita Vinod Sandilea from Vadodara plans to have the Khelo India Youth Games 2022 in Bhopal, a memorable outing. In the previous two editions of the Khelo India Youth Games, she failed to earn gold medals in either the 800m or the 1500m, her two main events.
On Sunday, her gut instinct told her to push hard from the 300m of the two-lap race to outkick her more fancied rival Asha Kiran Barla from Jharkhand. Despite desperate efforts, she couldn't lay her hands on the gold medal as Asha Kiran Barla proved too strong on the home sprint. On Friday, the Vadodara runner collected bronze in the 1500m race. "I wanted to win gold at the Khelo India Youth Games as it was missing from the collection," Laxita Vinod Sandilea said. From a part-time fitness enthusiast in 2017 and standing on the podium in middle distance events in her age group at the national level in 2018, is all about inner instinct for the promising runner from Gujarat, Ripandeep Singh Randhawa, athletics coach said. "She (Laxita Vinod Sandilea) is hungry to achieve good results. To achieve her goals she is ready to sacrifice," the athletics coach added. During her school days, Laxita Vinod Sandilea took up hockey. But quit within 12 months as the school officials didn't support the team game and she couldn't play in the state competition. "That was the time I disliked team games. So, I switched to running as it was an individual event," Laxita Vinod Sandilea recalled. Her first track experience was at the 2018 Youth Games in Gujarat. She claimed gold. Since then there has been no looking back. She has constantly been winning medals in her age group. She was so passionate about running that even during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, her favourite spot was the rooftop. Later a small group of athletes shifted their training base outside the city of Vadodara. "We got up early in the morning at 4 am and by the time other people woke up we finished our practice," she said. She even suffered minor Covid-19 symptoms but recovered within a week. Last year she qualified for the 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships held in Colombia. Due to a delay in visa and extended journey to South America, the Gujarat runner said she couldn't deliver. "Jetlag was no excuse, but my legs didn't move. I finished seventh in my heats and was out of the competition," the Gujarat middle distance runner said. This year she has set her sights on the upcoming Asian Junior Athletics Championships. "The Khelo India Youth Games in Bhopal was my first race of 2023. With more speed sessions, I hope to further improve my performance," she said. Laxita Vinod Sandilea, a first-year college-going student of Business Administration said she will compete in both 800m and 1500m at the Federation Cup junior athletics meet in May, which will act as qualifying for the continental meet. Her personal best of 2:08 in the 800m is slower than the 2:06 Asian junior qualifying mark. The qualifying time of 4:15 in 1500m is also challenging. Her best in 1500m is 4:29. "I think with more speed workouts I should be able to achieve a qualifying time for the Asian meet," she said with an air of confidence. (ANI)
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