Preeja Sreedharan - The Pride of India (Part 1)

Preeja Sreedharan - Showing alot of talent in long distance running

There has been a gold medal drought, for both men and women, for the long distance in India all the while. India's focus has most of the time been on cricket, hockey and shooting, to name a few.

Singapore Bay Run

In 2010 Singapore SAFRA Bay run, I was told by top Singapore runners that the Indian soldiers who came to run here for the half-marathon were nearly able to dominate the top 10 positions and do a frightful 3min flat for the first kilometre of the SAFRA Bay Run. What was more awe-inpiring was that these runners were averaging a time of 1hr 10min, a sign of improvement in the running standard as compared to the past. To add a feather to the cap these invited runners were just the soldiers, what about the other elite runners in India.

Domination of Middle Eastern Countries and Oriental Countries

As usual, the marathon and walking events were vastly dominated by oriental countries like China, Japan and Korea. The middle distance events were overtly dominated by countries like Iran, Bahrain, Qatar, to name a few, leaving India to nearly achieving a near nothing and leave the Games empty handed.

Preeja's Inspirational Rise

Preeja's story shows an inspirational rise from a humble beginning as a developmental runner and currently she is now the best in India as well as in Asia for 10000 metres.

Preeja Sreedharan was born on 13th of March, 1982, at Mullakkanam, Kerala. Her first major championship was the Asian Cross Country in 1999. Her recent development as a world classr runner started from her coming in fifth in both the 5000 and the 10,000 metres in the 2006 Asian Games. In Asian Track and Field Championships 2007 at Amman, capital of Jordan, she won the silver medal in the 10,000 metres. She qualified for the Beijing Olympics in June 2008 after achieving a B qualifying mark for the Games. She finished twenty-fifth at the Olympic 10,000 metres.

Preeja's recently won gold medal in the 10000 meter event and silver in 5000 metres in the Guangzhou Asian Games. Moreover, she is now a current Indian National Record holder for 5000 and 10,000 metres. Her personal best for the 10,000 metres is now 31:50:28 minutes in Guangzhou Asian Games.

After the event, Preeja Sreedharan’s became emotional when she spoke about her family. The girl from Mullakkanam in Kerala struggled to control herself as she narrated her life story after stunning the field in the women’s 10,000 metres.

Picture 2 - “After winning, my immediate thoughts were with my mother (Ramini) and brother (Pradeep). They have made huge sacrifices and I am here today because of them,” Preeja said.

“I lost my dad when I was very young and it was a big struggle for all of us, my brother Pradeep had to quit studies after eighth standard and started working. He worked as a carpenter. My mother had to work in others’ houses),” said Preeja

After the terrific performance, Preeja felt overwhelmed by the international media.

“When I started I never thought I would get so much (gold and all the adulation).”