The 18-year old got injured in February during the National Games in Uttarakhand. He is yet to recover the lost ground.

Navneet Singh

Odisha’s National Games 400m champion Bapi Hansda will watch upcoming international competitions from the sidelines as he is undergoing rehab and yet to commence his normal training.

The 18-year-old international runner was injured during the men’s 4x400m relay at the 38th National Games held in Uttarakhand in February this year. He pulled his left quadriceps muscle and had to undergo surgery to get rid of the pain.

He had won gold in an individual 400m race at the National Games with a personal and season’s best of 46.82 seconds. “It was a good start to the season as I could race 400m in under 47 seconds,” the teenager said. “I never thought I would get injured during the relay race.” 

Hansda said he is undergoing rehab in Bhubaneswar and had started jogging. “I should be better in the coming days. But unsure when I’ll be able to run a fast race,” he added.  “I’ll be 19 years old in July and will compete at the junior level (U20) this season to build up and then plan to compete at the senior level.”

Hansda hogged the limelight during the 2023 Asian Youth (U18) Athletics Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. He won silver in the boys 400m hurdles. But his 2024 season didn’t go on expected lines. He missed the 2024 Asian U20 competition in April and later in August got unwell during the World U20 Athletics Championships in Lima, Peru. “It was an unpleasant situation which robbed me to showcase my potential at the global level,” he said.

The Odisha’s teenager said his plan this year was to compete in May 10-11 World Athletics Relays in China and Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea.

“Since I’m on the path to recovery, I’ll have to watch all the international meets as a spectator till I regain the lost ground,” he said with a tinge of sadness.