17-yr-old eyes another world title this week

Left to himself, Beant Singh Bhinder would prefer being left alone. Prod him to say a bit about himself, and one is left searching for some vague hint, a faint sign, anything that would throw light on his precocious talent for running.

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The frail teenager is not at ease with the attention. His eyes rove, his hands fiddle in anxiety and his replies are almost forced. Till the one question for which he has a ready answer: his future plans? “Only practice will take me further. I want to excel.”

The 17-year-old is the fastest teenager India has seen in the 800-metre race. World Number 1 in the under-16 category a year ago, he has won two gold medals in international events in the last two months. Beant was not even 16 when he set a new national youth record (1:51:08s) in the Delhi Open Nationals in November last year. He might well be the World No. 1 in the under-18 category when he sets foot for the World Youth Championships in Cali, Colombia, on July 15.

Without a pedigree in athletics, the village lad’s success seems unreal. But such is the incredible story of this Haryana boy, who got a hand of support from another prodigious talent from the state. “Wrestler Sushil Kumar aroused ambition in my life,” Beant calmly reveals the secret. The teenager still believes he has nothing extraordinary in him that makes him such a good runner.

“Till 13, I had not run in a school race. The school in my village Mardan Kheda, at Assandh in Karnal district, neither organised sports meets nor did I have any special interest in running,” he recalls. Sport was just a pastime, an alibi to avoid the parents’ pestering for studies. Little did he know that in four years he would be beating the best of the runners (1.52.50s) in the World School Championships in Wuhan, China.

Though tall, the fast-growing boy was woefully underweight. Agriculturist father Gurwinder Singh’s daily chiding and mother Baljinder Kaur’s constant cajoling were not bearing fruit.

It was in 2011 that Olympian Sushil Kumar’s father Diwan Singh, an acquaintance of Gurwinder, came to settle a land deal in the village. When the talk shifted to Beant’s health, Diwan suggested that the boy spend the summer vacation in Sushil’s company with wrestlers in Delhi’s Chhtrasaal Stadium.

Once there, Beant knew that grappling was no mean task. He drew towards athletics. Then began the gruelling training for three years, initially under Sunita Rai and then Dinesh Rawat. He is mentored by Olympian Gurbachan Singh Randhawa and gets a monthly stipend of Rs 5,000 by the Delhi Development Authority. 

In November last year, Beant  won a silver in the National Open Championships, his first in senior nationals. “Later, I came to know that my timing was better than the gold medallist of this year’s Asian Junior Championships. Athletes there are 20-21 years of age,” he states in a matter-of-fact way.

In August last year, the Class XI student of GB Tripla School in Vasant Kunj, New Delhi, had everyone take note of his performance (1:51:30s) in the Federation Cup at Patiala. He finished fourth. It was his first senior event and his name had to be manually entered since the software did not allow entries below 16 years. Beant says it is here that he gained the confidence of challenging top-notch athletes (the 1.45.77s feat by Sriram Singh in the 1976 Olympics still stands as India’s best). 

Says coach Rawat, “Beant is good at finishing the race and that is what matters in 800m. He still has three-four years to reach his peak. We are hoping he wins a medal in athletics in the 2020 Olympics.”

Beant is of the new breed of Indian athletes who know that winning is only possible through perseverance. “It depends on how much I practice since Olympic medals come through better training.”

Sushil says the boy’s modest background has instilled good values in him. “May he win an Olympic medal soon!” 

While on track the Sikh lad may throw some attitude, but coach Rawat vouches that off it he is very genial. Above his humble cot is a poster of Kenyan David Rudisha — world record holder in 800m (1.40.91s). “He is my favourite because he runs his own race,” says Beant. 

If Beant runs his own race in Cali in a few days, he well might stop the watch below the 1.49.07s mark. That would still leave him hungry for more. Beant was given a short break after his China win, but said he would go home only with a medal. The reply from Mardan Kheda was simple: may the force be with you.