Who is Parvej Khan, Indian athlete who won gold at SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championship in USA?

Parvej Khan, an Indian athlete, recently made the headlines when he clinched gold medal at the NCAA SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championship in the United States. Parvej, 19, won gold in the 1500m race after he clocked a timing of 3:42.73s as he clinched his second medal of the tournament.

He had also won a bronze medal at the 800m race category. The NCAA SEC Championships is a collegiate athletics competition that is held every year. Several athletes from universities across the southeast regions of the United States take part in it.  Parvej is a freshman who is pursuing a scholarship with the University of Florida and represents Florida Gators in athletics.

So, who is Parvej Khan? Here’s all you need to know about the teenager: 

Parvej Khan is a 19 year-old Indian athlete who hails from Haryana. His family resides in the Metwa district of Haryana and comes from a humble family background. Parvej’s father, Nafees Khan, is a farmer.

When he was 13 years old, Parvej had left his village in a bid to excel in athletics, and travelled to Delhi as a result. He trained at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium there for a year and then shifted base to Bhopal, where he began training at the Sports Authority of India (SAI). There, he trained under coach Anupama Srivastava.

In 2019, Parvej participated in the U16 nationals in Mangalgiri, where he won a gold at the 800m race. In 2020, he went onto win a bronze medal at the Khelo India Youth Games.

Parvej is also a National Games gold medallist. He won gold at the 2022 National Games in the 1500m race, and registered his new personal best time of 3:40.89s.

What followed was the youngster then moving to the United States, where he joined the University of Florida on scholarship. Ever since, Parvej has gone onto become part of the Florida Gators athletics team and eventually made his NCAA Championships debut in Boston earlier this year.