Four Indian race walkers, including one in women’s 35km, will compete in global meet. Servin is the best bet

Navneet Singh

Four Indian race walkers, including one in women’s 35km, have qualified for the World Athletics Championships starting on September 13 in Tokyo. Of the four race walkers, Army’s Servin Sebastian is considered the best bet because of his consistent run in the last six months.

The men’s and women’s 35 km race walk will be held on opening day (September 13) of the global competition. Servin, 25, will be in action on September 20 in the men’s 20km race walk.

“He (Servin) has done good training in the build-up to the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo,” says Army’s race walking coach Basant Bahadur Rana. “We expect Servin to improve his personal best in Japan.”

On his way to bronze in the men’s 20km race walk at Gumi Asian Championships in South Korea in May, Servin clocked 1hr:21min:14s, a personal and season’s best.

Army’s international race walker began his 2025 season with a victory in the men’s 20km race walk at the National Games in Uttarakhand in February. He further cemented his position as the leading race walker in men’s 20km by winning the National Race Walking Championships in Chandigarh in April.

His outstanding performance enabled him to earn a place in the national team for Gumi Asian Athletics Championships in South Korea in May. Determined to do his best in Gumi, Servin earned a valuable bronze medal and improved his ranking points.

In all the three races, including the Asian meet in South Korea, Sebastian’s performance was steady. “That’s why we have pinned hopes on him (Servin) to further lower his personal best in Japan,” the Army’s race walk coach added. “The weather in Tokyo will be similar to India. It will be an advantage to the Indian race walkers.”

Ram Baboo (men’s 35km) and Sandeep Kumar (men’s 35km) are experienced but yet to repeat their personal best in major competitions. At the 2023 Budapest Worlds, Baboo was warned thrice by the judge for visible loss of contact with the ground. He was penalised for technical violation.

At the 2022 Eugene World Championships, Kumar was flashed a red card for technical violation in the opening 2km of the 20km race walk. Thereafter, he slowed down and finished down the ladder.

The national record holder in the women’s 20km and 35km, Priyanka will compete in women’s 35km in Japan. Even she hasn’t repeated her personal best in major competitions.

Priyanka’s performance wasn’t encouraging at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in the individual and marathon race walk mixed relay event introduced for the first time in Paris.

Army’s race walking coach however, defended technical violation issues during international race walking saying even the best race walkers in the world get red cards. “Race walking is a highly technical event. The Indian race walkers have a tendency to slow down after receiving their first red card. On the other hand, athletes from other countries generally don’t slow down even after getting a warning from the judge. That is an advantage,” the coach added.

Box:

Servin Sebastian (25 years old Army race walker)

Season best: 1:21:14 (2025)

Personal best: 1:21:14 (2025)

Career achievements:

Bronze in 2025 Asian Championships in Gumi, South Korea.

ENDS