At 19, Race Walker Munita Prajapati Breaks National Record

Munita Prajapati breaks National record: Nineteen-year-old Munita Prajapati from Varanasi has created a new national record in the under-20 women's 10000m race walk event at the 36th National Junior Athletics Championships on Tuesday.

The teenager from Uttar Pradesh has now surpassed the previous national record of 48:25.90, set by Reshma Patel.

Munita Prajapati breaks National record:

#MunitaPrajapati of Uttar Pradesh sets a new National Record in 10000m Race Walk (U20) event with a time of
47:53.58. The previous record was set by Reshma Patel (48:25.90) earlier this year at the Junior Federation Cup in Bhopal. pic.twitter.com/94l5IDEo6C

— Khelo India (@kheloindia) February 9, 2021

Setting new Record and how

India’s female race walker, Prajapati clocked a record time of 47 minutes and 53.58 seconds to clinch the gold on the penultimate day at the Sarusajai Stadium, Assam. 

With this new feat, Prajapati on Tuesday became the first Indian under-20 woman race walker to clock a sub-48 minute time over the distance.

Earlier last month, Prajapati had finished third in the same event in the Federation Cup Junior U-20 Athletics Championships in Bhopal, where Patel had outsmarted her and won gold with a time of 48:25.90.

She has already qualified for the World Juniors, scheduled to be held in Nairobi, Kenya in August 2021. She earned the spot at the race walking nationals in February last year. Prajapati, who hails from Sahwajpur Badhaini Khurd district, wants to compete in the Olympics someday. 

Who is Munita Prajapati?

Prajapati's father used to work as a construction labourer but last year he got injured at work and had to leave his work. Her mother is a homemaker. She credits her sister for inspiring her to take up athletics. She said that her elder sister saw an opportunity to secure a government job through sports quota and subsequently it became her dream to help her family survive through financial issues.

“My sister wasn’t an athlete but she said this was the only way I could get out of the village and do something. I knew I had to do something to ensure my family’s struggles get over. Both my parents have sacrificed a lot for me and it’s my dream to secure a better future for them," she said. Adding that it is now her responsibility to look after three elder sisters and a younger brother. Munita Prajapati breaks National record