Manisha first Hamirpur athlete to win gold in international tourney

Manisha clinched the gold medal in the 4x400 metre relay event in the South Asian Athletics Championship held at the Birsa Munda international Stadium in Ranchi, Jharkhand. She is the first athlete from Hamirpur district, who has trained on the synthetic track here, to attain this milestone.

Manisha hails from remote Utpur village in Hamirpur and comes from a humble background. Her father, Ramesh Chand, works as a truck driver while her mother, Sheela Devi, is a homemaker. She overcame numerous shortcomings to become an award-winning athlete. The District Athletics Association congratulated Manisha for her achievement and expressed gratitude to all sports administrators, coaches, and supporters, who had contributed directly or indirectly to the growth of athletics and athletes in the district.

Manisha’s performance in the past two years had been outstanding. She had secured the gold medal in the 400-m event at the Open Athletics Championship in Sangrur, clocking impressive 53.81 seconds that earned a place in the national team. She had won a bronze medal in the 64th National Inter-State Championship, bagged a bronze medal in the 400-m relay at Khelo India, silver medal in the Under-23 Open Athletics Championship and won the gold medal in the Inter-University Championship.

Manisha dedicated her international victory to all daughters of Himachal Pradesh. She said, “This win belongs to every girl of our state.” She added that before the competition, she had promised to bring home a medal and she had fulfilled it.

She expressed gratitude to the District Athletics Association, Himachal Pradesh Athletics Association, her parents, mentors and coaches, acknowledging their constant guidance and support throughout her journey.

Bhupinder Singh, national athletics coach, and Pankaj Bharatiya, president of the DAA sports lovers, said that Manisha’s success story was an inspiration for aspiring athletes in Himachal Pradesh while she celebrates her gold medal.