Aim to set good standard for Indian racewalking at world level, says National Record holder Ram Baboo

In an exclusive chat, he also spoke about his struggles during the pandemic.

Ram Baboo has become a popular name in the Indian Athletics ecosystem for the past year. His performance since 2022 is on a rise and he is one of the athletes to watch out for in the upcoming years. The 24-year-old started the 2023 season on a bright note breaking his national record set at the National Race Walking Championships (also breaching the time limit set by AFI for the Asian Games).

Ram Baboo finished fifth (NR-02:29:56) at the Dudinska 50 (World Continental Tour Meet) missing out on an automatic spot for World Athletics Championships by 0.16 seconds.

Khel Now got an opportunity to interact with the athlete after his performance at the Dudinska 50 meeting.

How did you get into athletics and racewalking in particular?

Ram Baboo started racewalking in 2018 and participated in his first national competition in 2019 at the National Meet in Chennai. The 24-year-old started his career participating in the 50km racewalk and currently is taking part in the 35km category.

The National record holder said, “Initially, I was into running but in September 2018 took up racewalking. I shifted from running because I had a knee injury, so I couldn't take proper training. My coach asked me to change the event and try racewalking.

"I got motivated by seeing the 2012 London Olympics (I was in school at that time) and my seniors in school said - sport as a career is a good option (apart from studies) which can bring in good name and fame provided athletes do well. Also since I wasn't good at studies so took up sports.”

“At the start, I was taking part in the 50km race walk and then it was brought down to 35km by the Federation."

Journey since 2018

The Journey for Ram Baboo wasn't a smooth one as he finished in the last spot in his maiden National Meet. But slowly after rigorous training, the athlete started to find a rhythm and started performing well.

Ram Baboo iterated, “After taking up racewalking in 2018, I took part in my first race-walking championships held in Chennai in February 2019 and finished in the last spot. After a few months, I took part in the Open National where I finished 14th. Gradually I started to improve and in 2020, I finished in the fourth spot (50km racewalking).

"I had a tough time during the pandemic as I did not win any medals at the National level and had to work in MNREGA due to financial constraints. Once the lockdown subsided I once again trained hard and won the silver medal in the 50km racewalk.”

“After winning the silver medal at Indian Race Walking Championships in 2021, coach Rana (in Army) called me to train at Army Sports Institute Pune.”

Performances since 2022

Missed out on the World Championships spot by 0.16 sec at Dudinska 50. Thoughts after missing out on a slight margin?

This was Ram Baboo’s second International Meet after competing at the 2022 World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships, in Muscat. He breached his NR for the second consecutive time this year finishing fifth with a timing of (02:29:56 hours) and missed out on the World Championships qualification mark by 0.16 seconds.

The 24-year-old quipped, “Overall it was a good race and made a good comeback. My coach wasn't with me during the event and this was my second International Meet as well. I didn't know that I will perform well here and finish in the fifth spot. I was close to finishing in the top three but my body did not respond well in the final phases due to which I had to finish fifth (the last 4km wasn't up to the mark). Also, I broke the National Record for the fourth time.”

Differences in competing in India and abroad

The Uttar Pradesh athlete added, “Yes, there is a lot of difference in competing abroad. There are many good athletes to compete but in India, I am the one who leads the race. In foreign meets, athletes are very experienced and competing along with them is a good experience. I get to walk along with them in groups and that is a very good feeling in terms of confidence.”

“I have been making good progress in the past few months. I was walking initially (at an average of 4min 28 sec per km) and then in the recent national racewalking championships on 15 February (at 4min 20 sec per km) and at the Dudinska 50 (at 4min 17 sec per km).

"Since the last four km did not go according to the plan, I finished fifth with slow timing. My next target will be to walk at 4min and 12 sec per km for which I have to focus on the speed sessions.”

Plans going ahead

Ram Baboo is currently training in Bangalore and has a lot of events to look forward to (the Federation Cup, Inter States Athletic Championships, and the Asian Games). He has already breached the Asian Games time limit and will now look to better his timings (for World Championships and the Olympic Games).

“I aim to set a good standard for Indian racewalking at the world level. We have the Federation Cup, Interstates and the Asian Games coming up as well, so I want to perform in these events along with the World Championships,” he added.