Jalandhar’s Twinkle sets record in 800m race

Twinkle Chaudhary had to leave her home for the sake of athletics. But surrendering job with the Railways was the toughest decision the 800m Jalandhar runner had to make.

The fierce sprinter again hit the headlines on Thursday by clocking 2 minutes and 00.71 seconds (2:00.71) — with a new Asian lead — at the ongoing 28th National Federation Senior Athletics Competition in Kerala.

Twinkle not only clocked her personal best, but also smashed the Federation Cup record to qualify for the Asian Championships, scheduled from May 27 to 31 in Gumi, South Korea. The qualifying mark for the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships was 2:05.00. Born in Delhi, a short trip to Jalandhar made Twinkle stay back in Punjab and take forward her career under Sarabjit Singh, also known as ‘Happy Coach’.

In love with athletics, Twinkle not only started learning Punjabi, but also started reading about history and culture of the state. Slowly, she adapted to the conditions and started bringing laurels to Punjab. Twinkle also got a job in the Indian Railways, but an injury post Covid forced her to surrender the job. “It was a really bad year. Since I was not practising or playing, the Railways asked me to join duty in Hyderabad. I had to surrender the job with a heavy heart and the belief that something better is in store for me,” said Twinkle, who is now supported by the Reliance Foundation and has represented the same in the ongoing cup.

The success didn’t come easy to her. Twinkle attended a special endurance camp in the Uttarakhand, which reportedly stretched more than seven weeks. “I knew how important the camp was for me. Summers in Punjab don’t suit me, especially when I am training. So, we decided to shift to a venue in Uttarakhand. It takes a lot of planning to bag the glittering gold,” laughed the middle-distance runner.

Asked about missing her family, she explained, “My coach treats me well and his family never let me miss mine. It’s hard, but I have to manage. However, the main problem is managing finances in outstation camps and bearing travelling expenses for coaching. I am somehow managing and sports promoters like Birinder Singh Sidhu are a blessing for me,” she added.

Early this year during the 38th Dehradun National Games, the 28-year-old finished second in 800m and was part of the gold medal winning women’s 4x400m relay and mixed 4x400m relay teams. She had clocked 2:03.46 in the 800m and today she improved her timing by a huge margin. Haryana’s Pooja (2:02.89) and Moga’s Amandeep Kaur (2:03.69) claimed second and third position, respectively. In the 800m heats, she emerged as the fastest in first heat by clocking 2:05.20.

Punjab