Astik Pardhan overcomes injury, family setback to chase Asian U23 glory

Kolkata: Astik Pradhan couldn’t have been more excited ahead of his first international competition at the Asian U23 Athletics Championships, to be held in Ordos, China, from July 9 to 12.The 20-year-old, who will compete in the 400m, grabbed headlines last year when he set a meet record of 46. 58s at the U20 Federation Cup in Prayagraj.

It was the perfect start to his career after he joined the Reliance Foundation High-Performance Centre in Bhubaneswar following a brief stint at a sports hostel and began training under coach Martin Owens towards the end of 2024. But tragedy struck when he suffered an injury in August last year.“I suffered a fracture during training around the time of Inter-State Championships in Chennai. It was my right ankle. I was out for about five to six months before recovering and returning to training,” said Astik, whose first competition on return was the Indian Athletics Series in Delhi in April this year.Even as he battled the injury, his father, who worked at a factory in Khordha, became bedridden.“Around the time I joined Reliance, my father developed a serious health problem due to fluid retention in his liver.

As a result, he lost his job and was forced to return to our village in Puri along with my mother,” added Astik, who took up athletics only about five years ago.Despite his illness, Astik’s parents — Pramod and Sabita — kept the truth from their son.“They didn’t want me to worry. I only realised how serious his condition was when he came to Bhubaneswar for treatment,” said the youngster, who was training in the city before leaving for the championships.None of it, however, distracted him from his goals as he continued to train relentlessly.“The competition is very tough. Even after returning from a six-month injury break, I know I have to improve further. I still feel some pain occasionally, otherwise I’m doing well,” he said.While he is yet to produce a breakthrough performance, Astik lowered his PB to 46. 21s at the Federation Cup in Ranchi. He also clocked a personal best of 21.

29s in the 200m at the Indian Athletics Series in Kolkata ahead of the Inter-State Championships.The youngster, however is confident of improving further. A big admirer of Wayde van Niekerk, Astik draws inspiration from the South African great while also benefiting from the guidance of coach Owens as he looks to finish on the podium in Ordos.Apart from Astik, another Odisha athlete hoping to win an international medal is Sabita Toppo in the women's 100m hurdles.Besides winning numerous junior titles, she claimed a silver medal at the Asian Youth Athletics Championships in Kuwait in 2022. The 21-year-old recently clocked a personal best of 13.57 seconds at the Federation Cup in Ranchi and will be hoping to carry that form into the continental championships.