Road to Rio: Sudha Singh's steeplechase run fueled by rivalry with compatriot Lalita Babar

Name: Sudha Singh Age: 30 Discipline: Athletics Category: Women’s 3000m steeplechase

Qualification: The Olympic qualification mark for the 3000m steeplechase was set at 9:45:00. At the 20th Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championship, Sudha came in at 9:31:86 and thus managed to qualify for Rio.

Strengths: Sudha Singh is a long-distance runner who qualified for the women’s marathon in the Rio Olympics. But, she insisted on being a part of the 3,000m steeplechase and her strength over 42-kilometres makes her a force in this form of track and field event.

Past Olympics performance: Came 21st in London Olympics 2012 in the women’s 3000m steeplechase.

Past record (recent best performances): Gold medal in 3,000m steeplechase at 2010 Asian Games Guangzhou, China - Gold medal in 3,000m steeplechase at 2013 Asian Championships Pune - Silver medal in 3,000m steeplechase at 2011 Asian Championships Kobe, Japan - Silver medal in 3,000m steeplechase at 2009 Asian Championships Guangzhou, China

Rio Prospects: Sudha’s eighth position in the prestigious Diamond League meet in Shanghai means that she stands a good chance of breaking the national record yet again. But it’s her experience in long-distance running, especially in marathons, that has helped with her endurance levels. This, in turn, pushes her 3,000m steeplechase time further and thus makes her a medal hope for India.

30-year-old Sudha continues her quest for Olympic glory as she takes part in her second Olympics. Her earlier campaign ended in disappointment as she came 21st in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase in London Olympics 2012.

The Arjuna Award winner hails from Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh and has been a regular feature in the 3,000m steeplechase and women’s marathon for India. But the real story of Sudha Singh is her rivalry with compatriot Lalita Babar.

It’s rare to have two prime track and field athletes in India who share a healthy rivalry. But looking at the spew of national records that are regularly broken by Sudha and her arch-rival Lalita, it is clear that they succeed in pushing each other to rise higher than the rest of the national field.

Both are JSW candidates and both are coached by the legendary trainer Nikolai Snesarev, whose iron fist has clearly worked as both athletes continue to improve with each competitive event. While Nikolai insisted on Sudha running for the women’s marathon, she fought tooth and nail with the Belarus-born coach to participate in the steeplechase event instead.

“Coach Nikolai was keen that we run only the marathon. But I felt I had a better chance in the track event. It took a while to convince the coach that I would be better suited for the steeplechase than the marathon,” Sudha told  Indian Express .

But, how far the athlete can go in her preferred event remains to be seen. Kerala track and field legend PT Usha expressed her doubts about India winning any medal in this discipline.

“In athletics, we cannot say who will win a medal. Participation itself is good. Tintu Luka, Lalita Babar and Sudha Singh, stand a good chance of qualifying for finals, only thing they have to do is better their performance,” she told PTI .

Despite holding the national record with a time of 9:26:55, it is highly unlikely that Sudha can go onto win a medal at the Rio Games. But her chances are far better as compared to other Indian athletes. A great race might boost her position further up the field and hopefully catapult her onto the podium.