Nirmala from Haryana has become the first athlete from the ongoing senior National inter-state athletics meet who has reached the Rio Olympics qualifying mark, by clocking 51.48 in the women’s 400m which took place at GMC Balayogi Stadium on Saturday.
Nirmala was coached by Vijender Singh for the span of last six years, and has not competed in any of the major events in the last few months, her full focus was on the event with the specific intent of qualifying for the Rio games.
Nirmala
The qualifying mark in the Olympics for the women’s 400 m is 52.20.
A delighted Nirmala has said that she was really confident of making it, especially after her performance in the heats, when she managed to clock 52.35.
The 22-year-old is born into a farmer’s family of seven, Nirmala seemed to be inspired by the presence of P.T. Usha, who also attended the meet.
Vijender Singh Nirmala’s proud coach has said that, it is the result of two years of her real hard work and training.
