Meet Ram Baboo, a MNREGA worker who broke 35km racewalk national record

A 23-year-old who worked under MNREGA, worked as a waiter, and stitched gunny bags has broken the National record in Men's 35-km racewalk. Ram Baboo who hails from a small village, Bahuara in UP's Sonbhadra has an inspiring story of struggle.

The relentless young athlete completed the 35km racewalk in a record time of 2.36.32 seconds. While he broke the national record, Baboo wasn't very satisfied with his result.'I knew I would break the record because I had trained so hard. I walked 40-km sets in practice so that I feel at ease with 35 km. I am just disappointed that I couldn’t do well. But I’m sure I will reset the record again in two weeks,' he said.

The UP-based athlete had to give up on his initial dreams of winning marathons after he suffered an injury in his knee. It was only a matter of time before Babu found his calling in racewalking.

Since 2018, Babu who comes from a very humble background has supported himself by doing odd jobs like digging up the soil through various village projects under MNREGA and working as a waiter in Varanasi.

He, however, hated that job and he felt that digging up the soil was better than being a waiter. 'People don’t treat waiters nicely. They think of them as lesser humans. I felt terrible at the way people used to call me 'chhotu' and other names. I wanted to get out as soon as possible,' he said.

Babu who currently trains under Army coach Basant Rana entered the Army Sports Institute, Pune after winning silver at the 2021 50-km racewalking. After finishing the race three-and-a-half minutes earlier than the previous record, the athlete is now keen to improve further when he next plays at the Open Nationals which will be held later this month in Bengaluru.