Race Walking in Chandigarh

Reviewed profileAchievements, tournaments, coaches and FAQs on this page are compiled by hand from federation, government and press reporting, drawing on Wikipedia — Priyanka Goswami, Olympics.com — Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 race walk coverage, Goswami profile, Asian and World Team Championships reports, ESPN — Bhawana Jat profile, Goswami/Sandeep Kumar feature, CWG 2022 coverage, The Bridge — Unheard stories of Indian race walkers, News on Air — Austrian Racewalking Championships 2025, Paris mixed relay quota, Hindustan Times (via PressReader) — Bhawana Jat national record, AFI Tokyo review. These are not cited to individual documents: we hold no per-claim source for them, so treat dates, counts and career records here as a summary rather than a reference. Sections we hold nothing for are left empty. Sport pages last reviewed as a set: September 2026.

Overview

Origin: 19th century England
Category: Athletics
Olympic discipline: Yes
Paralympic discipline: No
Central pathway: Olympic (TOPS eligible)
Athlete profiles on SportSupport: 0

Governance and status

Each field below is shown only where we hold a source for it; anything else reads “Not currently verified” rather than a guess. Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition is granted year by year, so it is only ever shown with the year it applies to. Last reviewed: September 2026.

Indian governing/organising body: AFI
Ministry recognition: Athletics Federation of India — Annual recognition renewed by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports — as at 2026Source: Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports — List of recognised National Sports Federations
International federation: Not currently verified
Khelo India inclusion: Not currently verified
TOPS eligibility: In scope — TOPS covers Olympic medal prospects
Olympic status: On the Olympic programme
Paralympic status: Not a Paralympic discipline

Race Walking is listed on SportSupport in the athletics category. Its recorded origin is 19th century England. It is on the Olympic programme. We list AFI as the Indian governing/organising body for the sport.

Race Walking is on the pathway that runs through India's national sports federations to the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), with selection running through AFI against its published benchmarks. Being on this pathway is not itself a statement that the discipline is currently in TOPS — TOPS covers a Core Group and a Development Group chosen by the Mission Olympic Cell.

Scholarships & Funding

Central, state and private scholarships available for race walking athletes in India.

Khelo India Talent Identification & Development (KITID)
Monthly stipend (₹10,000 for selected Khelo India athletes), boarding, coaching and kit at accredited centres for talent identified through the Khelo India selection process (Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports). Applies only to disciplines on the official Khelo India Games list, and only to athletes it selects.
Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS)
Central government scheme covering training, foreign exposure, equipment and an out-of-pocket allowance (up to ₹50,000/month) for athletes inducted by the Mission Olympic Cell. TOPS covers a Core Group and a Development Group of disciplines rather than every Olympic sport, and induction is decided athlete by athlete; we hold no current list confirming whether race walking is among the covered disciplines.
National Sports Development Fund (NSDF)
Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports fund used to sponsor elite athletes' training, foreign coaches and equipment. Allocations are made case by case; we hold no record of NSDF support specific to race walking.
Pension for Meritorious Sportspersons
Lifetime monthly pension (₹20,000 for Olympic/World/Asian/CWG medallists; scaled by tier) for retired internationals who meet the scheme's medal criteria — Government of India.

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Indian Players

No profiles yet

No athlete profiles are recorded for race walking yet. We only list athletes we can source, so this section stays empty until verifiable profiles exist.

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Rules

Race walking is a judged endurance discipline governed by two rules: the athlete must maintain contact with the ground so that no visible (to the human eye) loss of contact occurs, and the advancing leg must be straightened at the knee from first contact until the vertical upright position. Judges positioned around the course issue a caution (paddle) for a borderline infringement and a red card for a clear one; red cards from three different judges — or a chief judge's disqualification — end the race for that athlete. Major championships use a penalty zone where a carded athlete serves a timed stop. Standard championship distances are 20km on the road for men and women, with a marathon race walk mixed relay added at Paris 2024, and 10,000m/20km track and road variants at other meets.

Authoritative rulebook: AFI. Age-group and school-level variations are published by SGFI and the state associations each season.

Positions

Typical roles across athletics sports. These are category-level descriptions, not a sourced race walking squad list.

Sprints
60m, 100m, 200m, 400m and relays — pure speed and reaction.
Middle & long distance
800m through the marathon — pacing, tactics and endurance.
Hurdles & steeplechase
Technical events combining speed with barrier clearance.
Jumps
High jump, long jump, triple jump and pole vault — best legal mark wins.
Throws
Shot put, discus, hammer, javelin — best legal distance across three or six attempts.
Combined events
Decathlon and heptathlon — points-scored across multiple disciplines.

Equipment

Standard kit and infrastructure required to train and compete in race walking at a federation-recognised event.

Lightweight, flexible racing shoes with low heel drop
Vest and shorts in national or club colours with bib numbers
Judges' paddles (caution and red card), penalty-zone clock and lap board
Certified road loop or track, with drinks and sponging stations
GPS watch or lap timing for pacing and cadence work

Governing/organising body

Body listed on SportSupport

Athletics Federation of India

Athletics Federation of India is the body we list as the Indian governing/organising body for Race Walking. Its recognition status as we hold it: Annual recognition renewed by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports (as at 2026). Recognition is granted year by year, so read the federation profile for the source.

Origin: 19th century England
Olympic: Yes
Paralympic: No
Category: Athletics

AFI profile →All federations →

Major Indian Events

Domestic competitions we hold a source for in race walking.

National Open Race Walking Championships
India's principal domestic meet and its main Olympic qualifying event, organized by the Athletics Federation of India and frequently held at Ranchi and Morabadi, Jharkhand. The 2021 edition saw Priyanka Goswami set a national record of 1:28:45 in the women's 20km and Sandeep Kumar set 1:20:16 in the men's — both qualifying for Tokyo on the same day. At the 2023 edition, Akshdeep Singh clocked a national record 1:19:55 to qualify for Paris 2024.

International Events

Continental and world-level competitions we hold a source for in race walking.

Olympic Games
KT Irfan was the first Indian race walker to qualify for the Olympics. Priyanka Goswami is a two-time Olympian, finishing 17th in the women's 20km at Tokyo 2020 and 41st at Paris 2024. Bhawna Jat, the first Indian woman to qualify in the event, was 32nd at Tokyo. Goswami and Akshdeep Singh also secured India a quota in the marathon race walk mixed relay, which made its Olympic debut at Paris 2024.
Commonwealth Games
Priyanka Goswami won silver in the women's 10,000m race walk at Birmingham 2022 in a personal best 43:38.83 — the first Commonwealth Games race walk medal by an Indian woman. Harminder Singh was the first Indian medallist in the discipline, taking 20km bronze at Delhi 2010. Sandeep Kumar won 10,000m bronze in 2022.
World Race Walking Team Championships
India's men's team (KT Irfan, Surinder Singh, Babubhai Panucha) won 20km team bronze in 2012, and the women's team (Bhawna Jat, Ravina, Munita Prajapati) won 20km team bronze in 2022. At the 2026 edition in Brasília, the Indian women finished fifth in the marathon race walk with Goswami 10th.
Asian 20km Race Walking Championship
India has won seven medals overall (1 gold, 2 silver, 4 bronze). Gurmeet Singh is India's only gold medallist at the meet, winning in 2016 alongside a silver (2012) and two bronzes (2013, 2014).

Leagues

No dedicated professional league is currently catalogued for race walking. The national championship under AFI remains the top domestic competition.

All leagues →

International Players

Globally recognised race walking athletes to know outside India.

The international federation for race walking maintains the current world ranking — check the federation site for the up-to-date top names.

Career Options

Ways to build a career in race walking — on the field, on the sidelines and behind the scenes.

Indian Railways is the dominant employer — Priyanka Goswami works as an OS with Indian Railways, and Bhawna Jat was recruited by Eastern Railway under the sports quota
Goswami's entry into the sport was almost accidental: she tried gymnastics for six months in school, then took up athletics in Meerut largely because medallists received prize bags — her father was a bus conductor
Bhawna Jat's route was harder still: she trained around full-time work and qualified for Tokyo at the national championships
Athletes have publicly identified lack of international exposure as a limiting factor — after Tokyo, UP Athletics Association officials noted Goswami had no overseas competition between her national record and the Olympics
Elite race walkers train primarily at the SAI campus in Bengaluru; Goswami has been coached by two-time Olympian Gurmeet Singh and later by German coach Ronald Weigel
Current national record holders across distances include Akshdeep Singh (20km), Sahil (10km), Priyanka Goswami (women's 10km) and Ram Baboo (35km and marathon walk)

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Related academies

1 listed

SAI National Centre of Excellence, BengaluruElite
Bengaluru, Karnataka · Since 1991
Sports Authority of India's flagship southern training centre.

All academies →List your academy →

FAQs

Common questions about race walking in India.

Who governs Race Walking in India?▾

We list AFI as the Indian governing/organising body for Race Walking, and state associations affiliated to it run age-group and state-level competition. We hold no current-year Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition record for it, so this is not a statement that it is currently a recognised national sports federation — recognition is granted year by year.

Is Race Walking an Olympic sport?▾

Yes, Race Walking is on the Olympic programme. Athletes selected by AFI against its published criteria can be considered for TOPS funding.

How do I start playing Race Walking in India?▾

The usual routes are a school team under the School Games Federation of India (SGFI), a college team under the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), or a private academy affiliated to your state association under AFI. Age-group state championships follow from there.

What government schemes support Race Walking athletes?▾

TOPS supports a Core Group and a Development Group of disciplines selected by the Mission Olympic Cell, rather than every Olympic sport. We hold no current list confirming whether Race Walking is among them, so we make no TOPS claim for it. State governments give cash awards to medallists at events they notify. Race Walking does not appear on the official Khelo India Games discipline list, so we make no Khelo India claim for it.

Race Walking in every state & UT

Dedicated pages for Race Walking in each Indian state and Union Territory — academies, schemes, athletes and how to start.