Rio Olympics: Satara-born Lalita thirsty for Olympic glory

Olympic-bound long distance runner Lalita Shivaji Babar is a celebrity in her hometown, Mohi village in Maharashtra’s Satara district, one of the worst-hit drought areas in the country.

Thirsty for glory at the Rio Olympics, Babar is happy that her family members at least got enough water to drink and for their daily needs.

“The money that I earn after running for marathons I have used to have borewells in my home.

“I am happy that my family don’t have water crisis now,” Babar told this paper from Bengaluru, where she is training under experienced coach Nikolai Snesarev.

“Whenever I am at home, people do visit us to see me and talk to me. My neighbours and relatives are all eager to meet me. It’s been the trend since I bagged bronze at the Incheon Asian Games in 2014,” the soft-spoken runner added, who despite being the youngest in the family of four, is the only bread winner.

Babar qualified for the Rio Olympics after bagging gold in the 3,000m steeplechase at the Asian Athletics Championships in Wuhan, China, in June 2015 and also created a new national record on her way to the feat.

“I have been practising in Bengaluru for a while now and trying to get an idea about Rio as the weather conditions in Bengaluru are going to be pretty similar to Brazil. I am eyeing a medal at the Games. We do not have very good tracks in India and I have done well on them. So, I hope I can do better when there are better tracks,” the 26-year-old said.

Babar starts her training at half past four in the morning and finishes only by late evening. With a no oil and spice rule in food, she said that Kenya and Ethiopia would be the toughest “rivals” at the Olympics.

“Preparations for the Games have been going well. The training patterns are as they were earlier. We are just polishing our skills, said Babar, who trains along with fellow Olympic-bound athletes O.P. Jaisha and Sudha Singh.

Asked if she had been offered a government job of late, Babar expressed her desire to serve the Indian Army.

“No, there has not been any progress in that direction so far as I always expected a government job.

“I like the Army and often think of joining them. I have admired the Indian Army since I was a child,” said Babar, who was named Sports Person of the Year at the India Sports Awards 2015.

The year has been fruitful for Babar and the petite girl will look to extend her “good form” at the Olympics in August.